Retail sales grew at the strongest rate in May since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic in the UK, according to the British Retail Consortium (BRC)

Reuters reports that according to the BRC-KPMG Retail Sales Monitor, total sales increased by 10 per cent in May compared to the same month in 2019, outstripping the 7.3 per cent gains made in April, and the 8.3 per cent gains recorded in March.

Like-for-like sales jumped 23.7 per cent last month compared with May 2019, when sales decreased three per cent from the previous year. Online sales were still a major factor in the surge of sales figures, and non-food e-commerce sales increased 39.1 per cent on levels from May 2019.

Both the BRC and KPMG have said that the gradual ongoing easing of the lockdown and social distancing restrictions, as well as the pent up demand for in-store shopping, helped drive the increase in sales during May.

Non-food sales overall were up 7.5 per cent in the three months to the end of May, compared with the same period in 2019, while food sales increased 9.8 per cent.

BRC chief executive Helen Dickinson said: “Retail sales were buoyant in May thanks to the reopening of hospitality, coupled with the afterglow of non-essential retail’s own return.

“Pent-up demand for the in-store shopping experience, as well as the first signs of summer weather, helped retail to the strongest sales growth of the pandemic.”

She added that there is a growing sense of consumer confidence, likely boosted by the uptake in vaccinations and testing, as well as retailers investment in enhanced safety measures.

However, she said that large cities have been hit the hardest by the pandemic, with many people working from home and reduced footfall in city centres as more people choose to shop locally.

“Now is the time to consider what our future high streets and town centres will look like a decade from now,” she said.

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