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British retail sales tumbled 2.7 per cent in May, a much steeper drop than expected and the first this year, as consumers cut back on purchases of food and household goods.
Friday’s figure from the Office for National Statistics was below the 0.5 per cent decline forecast by economists polled by Reuters.
The decline, the largest for any month since December 2023, followed a bounce in April, which retailers said was down to the unusually sunny weather.
The volume of food store sales fell back in May, reversing a bounce in April. Overall retail sales volumes were down 1.3 per cent in May compared with the same month last year.
Hannah Finselbach, senior statistician at the ONS said: “The falls were consistent across all sectors with clothing and household goods stores reporting slow trading due to reduced footfall.”
Retail sales figures are the first official economic data for May, providing an indication of consumer demand.
