New reports from the British Retail Consortium and KPMG have shown growth in high street spending throughout May.
The warmer weather and the royal wedding led to a strong month for retailers with the total sales up by 4.1 percent.
While spending was up, the BRC chief executive Helen Dickinson warned of the tough climate. Almost 6,000 shops closed in 2017 while many more are planning closures this year.
“Retail sales in May saw their highest growth since January 2014 as better weather and the bank holiday effect led shoppers to buy from garden furniture and summer fashion ranges; recovering some of the ground lost in April,” said Dickinson.
“Food sales also stood out, with the best single month’s performance since July 2013.”
“Despite this more positive set of sales results, the retail environment remains extremely challenging, with trend growth still very low by historical standards.”
The warmer weather saw consumers buy in-store rather than online.
“Two bank holiday weekends, a royal wedding and of course sunnier spells will have been the main drivers behind the apparent rebound, with both online and high street sales thankfully up overall,” said Paul Martin, KPMG’s UK head of retail.
Spending was down 1.2 percent in the previous three months and was affected by “beast from the east”.
Spending is expected to remain strong over the summer months.
