Follow us

Menu
PARTNER WITH USFREE NEWSLETTER
VISIT TheIndustry.beauty

UK retail sales return to growth in February prompted by “roadmap to reopening”

Tom Bottomley
09 March 2021

Over the four weeks from 31 January – 27 February, 2021, UK retail sales increased 1% on a total basis and 9.5% on a like-for-like basis compared with February 2020, according to the BRC-KPMG Retail Sales Monitor.

Over the three months to February 2021, in-store sales of non-food items declined 38.9% on a total basis, and 21.4% on a like-for-like basis, while online non-food sales increased by 82.2% in February, 2021, against a growth of 3.6% in February, 2020.

Helen Dickinson, Chief Executive of the British Retail Consortium (BRC), said:
“February saw a return to growth after a disappointing start to the year. The Prime Minister’s roadmap to reopening prompted a burst in spending on non-food items, such as school uniforms. Furthermore, with another month of lockdown still to go, online sales were high, rewarding the retailers who have invested digitally.

“While the uptick in sales is encouraging, many retailers are concerned about the months ahead. Many retail businesses will be hoping that customers will return to shops, and have spent hundreds of millions on making their premises Covid-secure, but previous reopenings have shown that demand can be slow to come back. The government has a vital role to play in building up consumer confidence across the country to power the spending-led recovery.”

Paul Martin, UK Head of Retail at KPMG, added: “With the government’s roadmap out of lockdown in place and the vaccine rollout moving at pace, there is finally light at the end of the tunnel for non-essential retailers.  High streets will be counting down the weeks until they can finally open their doors and hoping consumers swap their slippers for trainers as they start to hit the shops.”

Free NewsletterVISIT TheIndustry.beauty
cross