- Prior -0.9%; revised to -1.2%
- Retail sales -3.0% vs -2.8% y/y expected
- Prior -3.1%; revised to -3.9%
- Retail sales (ex autos, fuel) +0.8% vs +0.3% m/m expected
- Prior -1.0%; revised to -1.4%
- Retail sales (ex autos, fuel) -2.6% vs -2.8% y/y expected
- Prior -3.2%; revised to -4.0%
That's a minor beat but take note that it comes after a softer revision to the March numbers. Looking at the breakdown:
- Non-food stores +1.0% m/m (-1.8% prior)
- Food stores +0.7% m/m (-0.8% prior)
- Non-store retailing +0.2% m/m (-1.4% prior)
- Automotive fuel sales -2.2% m/m (+0.1% prior)
It's a welcome development but the fact that food stores sales volumes are still down by 2.7% relative to their pre-pandemic levels i.e. February 2020, it does highlight the softness in spending. And when you throw in price increases and the impact of inflation, you can see why as per below (and also highlighted last month here):
/GBP
