–BRC: UK May Like-For-Like Sales 1.3% y/y; Total 3.4% y/y
LONDON, (MNI) – UK retail sales rose on the year in May as good
weather boosted sales of food and drink, clothing and footwear,
according to the latest Retail Sales Monitor from the British Retail
Consortium and KPMG.
May like-for-like retail sales values rose 1.3% on the year, and
total sales increased by 3.4% following sharp falls in both indices in
April when sales values fell as wet weather kept shoppers away from
the high streets.
The May survey shows food sales rose modestly from their
year-earlier level, as the sunny weather boosted demand for seasonal
foods.
Big-ticket items continued to struggle as consumers’ underlying
caution about jobs and the economy restrained major purchases, the
report shows.
The BRC survey strikes a chord with the latest CBI
Distributive Trades survey which also showed a bounceback in sales in
May after a lacklustre, rain-soaked April.
Comparison between the value-based BRC sales figures to the
official, seasonally adjusted data, which puts the spotlight on volumes,
is far from straightforward, but the BRC data suggest official sales
data will also show a bounceback after volumes plummeted in April.
Commenting on the data, Stephen Robertson, Director General,
British Retail Consortium, said the prolonged wet period helped create
pent-up demand in May.
“Small numbers of customers buying jeans and knitwear in the first
weeks of May became many more people purchasing skirts, shorts and
swimwear by the end of the month. Womenswear had its best growth this
year, while garden centres enjoyed a boom in the number of people
investing in new lawnmowers to tackle overgrown grass,” he said.
–London newsroom: +44 20 7862 7491; email: wwilkes@marketnews.com
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