Retail sales show continued growth in February

Retail sales increased by 6.7% in February, against an increase of 1.0% in February 2021, a new report from BRC and KPMG has revealed. This is ahead of the three-month average growth of 6.5% but worse than the 12-month average growth of 11.3%. On a two-year basis, total retail sales grew 4.9% (Yo2Y) during February compared with the same month in 2020. UK retail sales increased 2.7% on a Like-for-like basis from February 2021, when they had increased 9.5%. This was worse than the three-month average growth of 3.5% and the 12-month average growth of 8.5%. Meanwhile, over the three months to February, food sales increased 0.1% on a total basis and decreased 0.3% on a Like-for-like basis. This is below than the 12-month Total average growth of 1.7%. For the single month of February, food was in decline year-on-year. Over the three-months to February, non-food retail sales increased by 12.0% on a total basis and by 6.9% on a like-for-like basis. This is worse than the 12-month total average growth of 19.4%. For the single month of February, non-food was in growth year-on-year. Over the three months to February, in-store sales of non-food items grew 71.2% on a total basis and 57.2% on a Like-for-like basis. This was an improvement on the total 12-month average growth of 61.6%. On a two-year comparison, over the three months to February, in-store sales of non-food items declined 7.5% (Yo2Y) on a total basis and increased 3.1% (Yo2Y) on a like-for-like basis since February 2020. Online non-food sales decreased by 28.4% during February, compared with growth of 82.2% February 2021. This is worse than the 3-month decline of 21.5%. In a two-year comparison, online non-food sales increased by 26.9% (Yo2Y) in February. This is worse than the 3-mth average increase of 27.6%. Helen Dickinson, chief executive of the BRC, said: “February saw continued sales growth, although dampened by Storm Eunice and falling consumer confidence. Traditional try-before-you-buy products, like furniture and home accessories, as well as fashion and jewellery, continued to be the highflyers as more people returned to stores. “While online sales remained down on last year, the new spending habits driven by the pandemic have settled into a new normal, particularly for non-food, with four in every 10 pounds now spent online compared to three in every ten before the pandemic. Retail has driven five years’ of digital transformation in 24 tumultuous months.” Paul Martin, UK head of retail at KPMG, added: “As we move into a new phase of managing COVID-19, retailers will be focussed on keeping consumers spending, as the cost-of-living squeeze threatens the health of the sector. With travel very much reopened retailers are facing a double whammy of competing for share of wallet at the same time as the cost of living hits a high not seen in at least three decades. “As is the case for consumers, retailers also face tough inflationary pressures and will have to make challenging decisions around how to absorb those, or pass them on without losing custom. It could be a challenging time ahead for some in the sector should consumers choose to cut their spending to manage increasing household bills.”

Retail sales show continued growth in February

On a two-year basis, total retail sales grew 4.9% (Yo2Y) during February compared with the same month in 2020

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