Heatwave boost for retailers as Brits snapped up BBQs and fans
The late-May heatwave offered a much-needed boost for retailers as the hot weather prompted red-hot spending on barbecues, fans and sandals.
Retail sales in the UK jumped by 3.7 per cent year on year in May, soaring above the full-year average of two per cent, according to the British Retail Consortium (BRC).
Many Brits opted to shop online, ordering items like outdoor toys, sunglasses and barbecue food from the comfort of their gardens.
Online non-food sales soared by more than 10 per cent year on year in May, far above the year average of 1.2 per cent growth.
Food sales also took a heatwave boost as Brits splashed out for their garden barbecues, rising by 3.9 per cent in the year to May, against a 1.1 per cent drop the year before.
Linda Ellett, UK consumer head at consultancy KPMG, said May’s record temperatures caused retail sales to heat up.
She said: “Clothing and footwear sales grew – some for the first time since the January sales.
“As we move into [the] summer season, retailers and hospitality businesses will be hoping the good weather continues and that the World Cup boosts related spending.
“Getting new items into the suitcases of holidaymakers is also now key to the summer performance of many retailers.”
The sun shone on British retailers as the industry warns it is facing mounting tax pressures, as the spotlight fell on the rising cost of employment in the wake of the Milburn review.
This report by a former health secretary warned that the welfare state and social media are to blame for record levels of youth unemployment, which its author said is pushing the UK towards “economic catastrophe”.
Lord Simon Wolfson, the boss of retail giant Next, said in May that the government’s crackdown on zero-hour contracts will make it “much harder” for the firm to offer more hours to its staff.
Helen Dickinson, the BRC’s chief executive, warned that May’s sales uplift should not be taken for granted.
“If [the] government wants to keep inflation in check and support growth, it must urgently tackle the taxes and levies that are driving up energy bills,” she said.
“Without action, cost pressures will build further, limiting retailers’ ability to invest and pushing prices up for customers,” she added.
The heatwave boost to retail sales seen in May followed a three per cent decline in April, as fears around the inflationary impacts of the Iran war hit consumer confidence.