Retail

Non-store retailing boosts UK sales in May 2023

26 Jun '23

2 min read

Pic: Shutterstock/fiphoto

Insights

Retail sales volumes in the UK slightly increased by 0.3 per cent in May 2023, primarily driven by non-store retailing and automotive fuel stores.
Non-store retailing, buoyed by strong online sales of summer clothing, rose by 2.7 per cent.
The automotive fuel sector also rebounded, although it remains 9.5 per cent below pre-COVID-19 levels.

Retail sales volumes in the UK witnessed a modest increase of 0.3 per cent in May 2023, slightly decelerating from the 0.5 per cent rise seen in April, according to recent estimates. This growth was primarily driven by robust sales in non-store retailing and automotive fuel stores, which saw rises of 2.7 per cent and 1.7 per cent, respectively.

A surge in sales for goods including summer clothing by online retailers, thanks to the warm weather in the latter half of May, played a significant role in the non-store retailing sector’s performance, the Office of National Statistics (ONS) said in a press release.

Meanwhile, the automotive fuel sector rebounded in May following a 1.7 per cent drop in April, although its sales volumes remained 9.5 per cent below the pre-COVID-19 February 2020 levels.

However, not all sectors saw growth. Non-food stores saw a slight decline in sales volumes of 0.2 per cent in May, following a rise of 0.9 per cent in the previous month. In specific categories, clothing stores experienced a 0.4 per cent drop in sales, whereas department stores enjoyed a 0.6 per cent increase.

Overall, total non-food store sales volumes, which include department, clothing, household, and other non-food stores, dropped by 0.2 per cent over the month.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (NB)

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