Online sales up by 12 per cent in May

Wednesday, June 6, 2018 - 11:49 by Graham Miller

The latest stats published by the British Retail Consortium show that last month was another strong period for safe shopping online in the UK, with an 11.9 per cent uptick in e-commerce sales recorded over the course of May.

In comparison the same period in 2017 saw a modest 4.3 per cent rise in online retail activity, which suggests that consumer confidence was a little more resilient this year.

The Royal Wedding is seen as being one of the main factors that helped to encourage more people to make purchases and loosen their purse strings last month. The entire retail market saw a 4.1 per cent boost to sales, indicating that even visits to bricks and mortar stores were more popular.

Report spokesperson, Helen Dickinson, said that the warmer weather was another key influencer in terms of safe shopping online, with consumers stocking up on clothing, accessories and products designed to be used in the garden.

She also explained that in spite of the positive performance enjoyed in May, now was not a time to get complacent about the state of the retail market, as many companies are struggling to maintain their current momentum and economic uncertainty is still an issue.

Sales of smaller, low cost items are propping up many parts of the industry, while higher value goods continue to be overlooked. In particular, this is impacting retailers that have been in the market for decades, while their online-only counterparts are having an easier time of dealing with the current pressures that they are facing.

If the summer continues to enjoy bouts of good weather, then retail sales are likely to remain buoyant. The World Cup in Russia should also help to stimulate spending, with events like this more important than ever for embattled outlets.