Clothing and footwear sales boomed in May as social events influenced shopping
Retail sales enjoyed a buoyant May, with clothing and footwear performing particularly well as the easing of coronavirus restrictions allowed social events to influence how consumers shopped.
UK retail sales were up 23.7 per cent on a like-for-like basis from May 2019, according to the latest figures from the British Retail Consortium (BRC), suggesting a growing sense of consumer confidence.
Footwear sales were up 10 per cent on the same period two years ago, while clothing was up nine per cent.
Online sales played a more significant role in May 2021 than they did in May 2019, up 39.1 per cent for non-food sales against a growth rate of 1.5 per cent in 2019.
In the three months to May, food sales were also up, increasing 10.2 per cent on a like-for-like basis compared with the same period in 2019.
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 instore shopping experience, as well as the first signs of summer weather, helped retail to the strongest sales growth of the pandemic.”
Furniture and homeware sales performed well, Dickinson said, while clothing and footwear saw a second consecutive month of growth.
Paul Martin, UK head of retail at KPMG added: “The rain in May failed to dampen consumer demand and shoppers continued to return to the high street.
“Clothing retailers were the biggest beneficiaries of pent up demand, clocking up increases of over 100% as an easing of restrictions saw stores reopen and social events slowly come back on the agenda.
“Consumers also splurged on new jewellery, footwear and home accessories, with sales registering triple digit growth against last year, when lockdown measures were in place.”