Retail sales growth slowed down in the month of May, according to the latest figures from the British Retail Consortium (BRC).
The BRC-KPMG Retail Sales Monitor said UK retail sales for May were up 0.5% on a like-for-like basis from May 2013, when they had increased 1.8% on the preceding year.
On a total basis, sales were up 2%, a smaller rise than the 3.4% rise in May 2013. Clothing was the best performing category, reporting its highest growth since December 2011, while food was the lowest, reporting a decline in total terms.
The three month average year-on-year change for food was -0.2% in total, turning negative for the first time since BRC’s record began in 2008, excluding Easter distortions. For non-food, the three month average was 4.3% ahead of the 12-month trend of 3.8%.
Online sales of non-food products in the UK grew 17% in May versus a year earlier. The non-food online penetration rate was 18.7% in May, the second highest recorded after last November.
Helen Dickinson, director general at British Retail Consortium, said: “Customers took advantage of great summer fashion range and clothing sales had their best results since December 2011, performing better than any other category.
“There is also strong momentum in big ticket sales such as consoles and televisions as customers feel confident enough in the economy to make purchases that had been on hold, waiting for the economic recovery.”
