UK retail sales back to pre-pandemic levels

New figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) show supermarket sales declined 3.1% month-on-month, but volume sales were still up 2.4% higher than February. Fuel sales continued to recover from low sales levels, but were still 11.7% lower than February, the figures show.

Commenting on the ONS Retail Sales figures, Helen Dickinson, chief executive of the British Retail Consortium, said: “The latest ONS sales results mask a crisis underway in some parts of the retail industry. While food and online have shown growth, the hustle and bustle of shoppers and workers has yet to return to major town and city centres, continuing to impact sales significantly in those locations.”

Dickinson added: “The survival of many retail businesses hangs in the balance. Some retailers haven’t been able to pay their rent for the period where they were required to close for our national benefit and numbers of job losses and shop closures are rising. Unless another viable solution is found, the government should extend the moratorium on aggressive landlord debt enforcement beyond September.”

Karen Johnson, head of retail and wholesale at Barclays Corporate Banking, said: “Household spend continues to offer a strong account of itself as people invest in home improvements, whilst a growing housing market should only serve to further stimulate this growth. Food and drink is also performing well, although we may see a slight reduction in this area over the coming months if the ‘eat out to help out’ scheme is successful in drawing more people from their kitchens and into restaurants.

Johnson added: “The structural changes that have long been coming in UK retail have been dramatically accelerated by the impact of Covid-19. How this levels out in the months ahead will be key to determining what the UK retail sector looks like in the ‘new normal’, but one thing’s for sure: the battle for the high street is far from over.”

Sara Korchmaros, chief commercial officer at the retail technology platform Recash, said: “After months on the ropes, and against all the odds, the retail sector is emerging as Britain’s Comeback Kid.

“June saw the rot stop, but consumer spending hit its stride in July and propelled sales volumes into a white-knuckle, V-shaped recovery.”

Korchmaro added: “Despite the huge progress made, no-one should expect consumers to spend Britain out of recession. All retailers face a delicate struggle with fragile consumer confidence, and technology which helps them attract shoppers more strategically will become essential not just for growth, but for survival.”