2020.05.1305:19:00UTC+00UK Retail Sales Decline At Record Pace In April: BRC

UK retail sales declined the most since records began in 1995 due to coronavirus lockdown, data published the British Retail Consortium, or BRC, showed Wednesday.

Total retail sales plunged 19.1 percent year-on-year in April compared to a 2.4 percent rise in April 2019. This was the worst decline recorded since the BRC started monitoring in January 1995.

Meanwhile, like-for-like sales grew 5.7 percent on a yearly basis in April versus a 2 percent increase in the same period last year. In April, like-for-like sales have been measured excluding temporarily closed stores but including online sales.

Over the three months to April, food sales grew 6.0 percent on a like-for-like basis and 4.5 percent on a total basis.

At the same time, non-food retail sales decreased 4.4 percent on a like-for-like and 17.5 percent on a total basis.

Food sales were disappointing, with the virus preventing large family gatherings and turning Easter into a more modest affair, Helen Dickinson, chief executive at BRC, said.

For many non-food goods, such as clothing, footwear and large household items, the decline was particularly steep as consumers responded to lockdown conditions, Dickinson noted.