Food sales posts 3.6% YoY growth over the three months to May 2024. Credit: Tumisu from Pixabay.

The UK’s retail sector witnessed a modest increase in sales in May 2024, with 0.7% year-on-year growth.  

This performance is above the three-month average growth of 0.3% in May 2023 but falls short of the 12-month average growth rate of 2%. 

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Food sales experienced a 3.6% YoY increase over the three months to May, which, although robust, was lower than the 9.6% growth seen in May 2023.  

This figure is also below the 12-month average growth of 6.4%.  

In contrast, non-food sales declined by 2.4% YoY over the same period, a sharper decrease than the 12-month average decline of 1.7%. 

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Physical store sales for non-food items over the three months to May also saw a decrease, falling by 2.7% YoY – a more significant drop compared to the 12-month average decline of 1.1%.  

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Online non-food sales beat the trend with a 1.5% increase year-on-year in May, outperforming the average decline of 3% in the same period of 2023 and surpassing both the three-month and 12-month average declines. 

The online penetration rate for non-food items rose to 36.7% in May from 35.9% in the previous year, slightly higher than the 12-month average of 36.1%.  

British Retail Consortium chief executive Helen Dickinson said: “Despite a strong bank holiday weekend for retailers, minimal improvement to weather across most of May meant only a modest rebound in retail sales last month. 

“Although non-food sales fell over the course of the month, the long weekend did see increased purchases of DIY and gardening equipment, as well as strong clothing sales.  

“Growth in computing sales reached their highest levels since the pandemic, with many consumers continuing to upgrade tech bought during that period. Retailers remain optimistic that major events such as the Euros and the Olympics will bolster consumer confidence this summer.”