The high street may have been open for business again last month, but that didn’t stop online spending growth.
Total online spending rose by nearly 10% last month compared to the same time last year, according to BDO’s High Street Sales Tracker.
That is despite the fact that physical shops had returned to near-normal operation last month, compared to the previous period – May 2020 – when consumers had no option but to shop online.
The rise indicates that some consumer behaviours picked up during lockdown are not so easily shaken. That will concern bricks-and-mortar retail landlords, who are hoping the high street’s reopening will lead to a surge in summer business to offset some of their losses during the pandemic.
Total like-for-like sales across in-store and online rose by 195% in May, though from a base of -18.3% for the equivalent month last year. Lifestyle and fashion retailers enjoyed a particularly successful period, with sales rising by 85% and 83% respectively.
In its monthly retail report, BDO said: “While observers will be wary that the situation remains delicate, with a prolonged reopening and more challenging-than-expected recovery still possible, thus far retail spending appears buoyant.
“The continued strength of online channels, however, shows that consumers are not simply shifting back to pre-pandemic behaviours.
“Discerning the appropriate balance between channels continues to be a primary challenge for retailers as they begin to address the costs of the pandemic and re-examine their physical presence.”
Overall footfall increased steadily compared to the same weeks during lockdown last year, though the rises were less emphatic than those in April.
All venues recorded monthly highs during the first week of the month, with shopping centres enjoying the largest increase in footfall of 318% in the first week of May, followed by footfall on the high street, which rose by 296.3%, and retail parks, which grew by 167.8%.
The final two weeks of the month saw more modest growth. Footfall on the high street increased by 176% in week four, while both retail parks and shopping centres recorded rises of 82% and 214%, respectively.
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