Retail sales tumble to a rate ‘not seen since depths of pandemic’ amid cost of living crisis
Retail sales volumes are plunging by a rate not seen since the darkest days of Covid lockdowns, as industry voices have warned businesses will struggle amid historic inflation.
Total sales dropped by one per cent in June, according to the British Retail Consortium (BRC) and KPMG retail sales monitor for the five weeks to 2 July. This was against an increase of 10.4 per cent in June 2021.
What’s more, over the three months to June, non-food retail sales dropped three per cent, well below a 12-month average growth of five per cent.
Total online sales continued to dip, with sales down nine per cent as shoppers returned to stores in the wake of Covid restrictions being scrapped.
“Discretionary purchases were hit hard, especially white goods and homeware, while consumers also traded down to cheaper brands in food and non-food alike,” Helen Dickinson, BRC chief executive explained.
“Sales volumes are falling to a rate not seen since the depths of the pandemic, as inflation continues to bite, and households cut back spending,” she added.
Although the Platinum Jubilee weekend had boosted food sales temporarily while shoppers stocking up their wardrobes for holidays and weddings boosted fashion sales, it was “not enough to counter the substantial slowdown in consumer spending,” Dickinson said.