Data released by the Office of National Statistics on Friday showed that retail sales in Britain fell by 1.2% on a monthly basis during June after rising 2.9% in May. At the annual level, sales decreased by 0.2% over the 12-month period ending in June and are below the level of February of 2020 – before the epidemic crisis – by 1.3%. Eight out of nine sub-sectors witnessed a decline in sales, and this was topped by the decline in the food and beverage retailers sector. The decline also outpaced core retail sales, which exclude gasoline stations, fuel retailers and auto and parts dealers, at 1.4% in May. In volume terms, retail sales fell by 0.7% in May.
Core Retail Sales: After seeing a 1.2% increase in April, core retail sales fell 1.4% in May due to declining revenues across all core retail subsectors. The food and beverage retailers sector recorded the largest decline in sales, at 1.9%. The decline in sales in this sector was due to a decrease in sales at supermarkets and other grocery retailers (excluding essential goods retailers) by 2.1%, and at beer, wine and liquor retailers by 3.3%. Sales were also reported in May at building materials, garden equipment and supplies dealers – 2.7%, and general merchandise retailers – 1.0%.
Retail Sales Decline in May In May, retail sales saw a 0.8% decline, with total sales reaching $66.1 billion. Sales declined in eight out of nine subsectors, with the largest declines being in food and beverage retailers. Otherwise, core retail sales – which exclude gas stations, fuel retailers and auto and parts dealers – fell 1.4% in May. In terms of volume, retail sales fell by 0.7% in the same month.
Retail e-commerce sales in Canada
British Columbia: Retail sales fell 1.3% in May, driven by lower sales at food and beverage retailers. In the Vancouver metropolitan area, sales fell 1.2%. The only regional increase in retail sales in May was in Nova Scotia (+0.6%). This increase was driven by higher sales at car and spare parts dealers.
Retail e-commerce sales in Canada: On a seasonally adjusted basis, retail e-commerce sales fell 3.6% to $3.9 billion in May, representing 5.9% of total retail trade, compared to about 6.1% in April.
Advanced Retail Index: Statistics Canada provides an advance estimate of retail sales, which indicates sales decreased by 0.3% in June. Due to its early nature, this figure will be revised. This informal estimate was calculated based on responses from 50.3% of companies surveyed. The average final survey response rate over the previous 12 months was 90.0%.
Sales at automobile and spare parts dealers rose, while sales at gasoline stations and fuel retailers fell: The only increase in retail sales in May was observed at automobile and spare parts dealers (+0.8%), the third increase in four months. The increase was led by new car sales (+1.6%). Gains at used car dealers (+1.8%) were more than offset by lower sales at other car dealers (-5.0%) and auto parts, accessories and tire dealers (-3.4%).
Sales at gas stations and fuel retailers fell (-0.6%) in May. In terms of volume, sales at gas stations and fuel vendors increased by 1.0%. Retail sales volume (quantity purchased) is expected to decline by 1.2% in June 2024, after a 2.9% rise in May 2024 (unrevised from our last post)
Sales decline in nine provinces: Retail sales decreased in nine provinces in May. The largest regional decline was observed in Alberta (-2.5%), due to lower sales at auto and parts dealers.
Data measurement and online retail
Sales volumes fell in most sectors, with department stores and clothing retailers broadly returning to Q1 (January to March) 2024 levels. Looking at the quarter, sales volumes fell by 0.1% in Q2 (April to June) 2024, compared to the quarter The first quarter of 2024, and decreased by 0.2% compared to the second quarter of 2023.
Data Measurement: For June 2024, response rates were 61.5% based on returned forms. This represents 91.9% of the total turnover coverage for the sample population. To obtain response information
Online retail: Online sales declined in most major sectors
Value sales, monthly percentage change, seasonally adjusted, Great Britain, June 2024: “Non-store retail” refers to retailers that do not have stores. While the majority consists of online retailers, it also includes other retailers, such as kiosks and marketplaces. More data, such as the proportion of sales made online, is available in our Retail Sales Index Internet Sales datasets.
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