Retail sales volumes declined by 1.4% between April and May after a sharp increase in April when retail restrictions were eased.
Despite the monthly decline, however, over April and May combined, average total retail sales volumes were still 7.7% higher than in March and were 9.1% higher than in February last year before the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.
According to latest government figures, the largest contribution to the monthly decline in May 2021 came from food stores where sales volumes fell by 5.7%; anecdotal evidence suggests the easing of hospitality restrictions had had an impact on sales as people returned to eating and drinking at locations such as restaurants and bars.
Non-food stores reported a 2.3% increase in monthly sales volumes in May, with household goods stores (for example, hardware and furniture stores) and other non-food stores reporting the largest growth of 9.0% and 7.7% respectively.
The large increase in sales volumes in April, followed by a relatively small fall in May, has resulted in the volume of sales for the three months to May 2021 being 8.3% higher than in the previous three months, with strong growth in automotive fuel sales and non-food retailers of 19.3% and 17.8% respectively.
The proportion of retail sales conducted online remains substantially higher than before the pandemic but in May all retail sectors except food stores reported a fall in their proportions of online sales as consumers returned to physical stores. The total proportion of sales online decreased to 28.5% in May, down from 29.8% in April.
