Covid hit UK retailers return to growth but concerns remain
After a bleak January sales performance and as the national coronavirus lockdown continued, February saw the mildest of upturns for the UK retail sector.
There was just 1% YoY total sales growth as high street stores across the country kept their doors closed, according to BRC/KPMG research.
Helen Dickinson, Chief Executive at British Retail Consortium, says: “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.”
She adds: “With another month of lockdown still to go, online sales were high, rewarding the retailers who have invested digitally.”
“Couples staying home for Valentine’s Day found themselves splashing out at their local supermarket, benefitting food sales.”
“Meanwhile, the continued closure of so-called ‘non-essential’ retail has meant that non-food in-store sales remained significantly down, underlining the importance of a successful reopening in April.”
While the uptick in sales is encouraging, Dickinson stresses that many retailers are concerned about the months ahead.
They will be hoping that customers will return to stores, 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.
“Government has a vital role to play in building up consumer confidence across the country to power the spending led recovery,” she concludes.
