By Ian McConnell
RETAIL sales volumes in Great Britain plummeted by a record 5.1 per cent month-on-month in March amid the developing coronavirus crisis, in spite of a surge in the food category amid stockpiling by some consumers, official figures reveal.
The record overall tumble occurred even though food sales volumes jumped by a record 10.1% month-on-month in March, the seasonally adjusted figures published yesterday by the Office for National Statistics show. The ONS retail sales data go back as far as1996.
Clothing and textile sales volumes were down by 34.8%, reflecting the shutdown of non-essential stores with the lockdown announced by the UK Government on March 23.
Excluding fuel, retail sales volumes declined by 3.7% month-on-month in March. Fuel sales dropped by 18.9% as private transport journeys declined dramatically amid the Covid-19 coronavirus crisis.
Retail sales volumes over the first quarter as a whole were down by 1.6% on the preceding three months.
The EY ITEM Club highlighted the “gloomy outlook” for the retail sector amid job losses and broader effects of the crisis on incomes. It also flagged increased consumer caution amid great uncertainty over the economic outlook.
Howard Archer, chief economic adviser to the EY ITEM Club, said: “The near-term fundamentals for consumer spending have clearly taken a substantial downturn as a result of coronavirus. Some people have already lost their jobs, despite supportive government measures and incomes have also been affected.”
He added: “Furthermore, consumers are likely to adopt a much more cautious approach to discretionary purchases given the current uncertain economic environment.”
Mr Archer noted that online sales were coming “increasingly to the fore” but pointed out they could make up for only a limited amount of the business lost.
He observed that online sales had, as a share of total retail sales, reached a record 22.3% in March.
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