Great Britain Retail Sales Rebounds as Buying Activity Climbs

Source: Office for National Statistics

Retail sales in Great Britain rebounded in April, as most sectors reported higher buying activity during the month. EWU is up 1.40%, while EZU is up 0.96%.

• Retail sales volumes climbed by 1.4% in April, following the 1.2% decline the previous month. This reflects a 4.1% growth from the February 2020 levels.
• Food store sales volumes increased by 2.8%, driven mainly by higher buying activity in alcohol and tobacco in supermarkets.
• Non-store retailing sales volumes inched up by 3.7%, driven by the increase in stronger clothing sales.
• Automotive fuel sales jumped by 1.4%, rebounding from the 4.2% decline the previous month.
• Non-food store sales volumes fell by 0.6% during the month amid the decline in other non-food stores and household goods stores.
• The ratio of online retail sales stood at 27.0%, higher than the 25.9% in March and the 19.9% in February 2020.
• The three months to April sales volumes slipped by 0.3% versus the three months prior, extending the downtrend seen since summer last year.