UK retail sales post March climb ahead of England lockdown ease

(Alliance News) - UK retail sales grew in March prior to large swathes of high street businesses ...

Alliance News 13 April, 2021 | 3:57AM
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(Alliance News) - UK retail sales grew in March prior to large swathes of high street businesses reopening in England, though the British Retail Consortium on Tuesday said fashion and beauty remains in the doldrums.

Total UK retail sales rose 8.3% in March, compared to the same month in 2019, the BRC-KPMG monitor showed. The BRC noted its figures are now compared to 2019, given how fraught 2020 was for the retail sector. The March growth compares to the three-month average increase of 2.7%.

On a like-for-like basis, sales were up 8.4% in March.

"While total sales show growth, out of the 13 categories tracked, eight remained in significant decline. The pandemic has concentrated spend on home centric categories such as food, computing and home appliances. While others, such as fashion and beauty remain in double-digit decline compared to pre-pandemic levels," BRC said.

Over the three months to March, in-store, non-food sales were down 44% from the same period in 2019. Food sales meanwhile, were 12% higher.

Online was still a big winner, sales were up 94% over the same three-month period compared to two years earlier.

BRC Chief Executive Helen Dickinson said: "As we pass the one-year anniversary of the first lockdown, the retail industry has generally remained strong, despite numerous challenges. 2020 was a year like no other, with panic buying followed by a sharp decline in consumer spend, and then the first national lockdown which resulted in erratic retail sales.

"March 2021 saw an 8.3% increase in spending compared to March 2019, which was largely driven by grocery spending. However, the majority of categories remain in decline, and fashion and footwear remain the hardest hit. Meanwhile, with many stores still closed, online purchases reached the highest on record, particularly for TVs, gaming consoles and laptops."

On Monday, non-essential retail stores, hairdressers, pub gardens and restaurants with outdoor dining were among the businesses that were able to reopen in England. England entered its third lockdown in January. Prior to this, many retailers were hit by tier 4 restrictions, the most stringent under the tiered system, as well as November's month-long lockdown in England.

As large swathes of bricks and mortar retail reopened in England on Monday, all eyes were on daily footfall figures.

Week-on-week, UK retail footfall on Monday was more than 100% higher up to 1700 BST, figures from industry analysts Springboard showed. Year-on-year, it jumped five-fold.

By Eric Cunha; ericcunha@alliancenews.com

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