UK data: Like-for-like sales +3.7% y/y in May vs. +5.2% in APril

British Retail Consortium data for May 2023:

• retail sales growth slowed to a seven-month low in May
• BRC says spending in its members' stores increased 3.9% y/y compared with the 5.2% growth y/y in April
• retail sales in May were 3.7% higher on the year on a like-for-like basis, from 5.2% in April
• "The wild card for the retail sector remains uncontrollable food inflation Inflation Inflation is defined as a quantitative measure of the rate in which the average price level of goods and services in an economy or country increases over a period of time. It is the rise in the general level of prices where a given currency effectively buys less than it did in prior periods.In terms of assessing the strength or currencies, and by extension foreign exchange, inflation or measures of it are extremely influential. Inflation stems from the overall creation of money. This money is m Inflation is defined as a quantitative measure of the rate in which the average price level of goods and services in an economy or country increases over a period of time. It is the rise in the general level of prices where a given currency effectively buys less than it did in prior periods.In terms of assessing the strength or currencies, and by extension foreign exchange, inflation or measures of it are extremely influential. Inflation stems from the overall creation of money. This money is m Read this Term, which shows little sign of coming down in the near future, and this is having a significant knock-on effect on non-essential spending," said Paul Martin, UK head of retail at accountants KPMG, who sponsor the data.

Separate data from BarclayCard

• consumer spending on payment cards rose by 3.6% y/y in May
• "Although the latest headline figures show that inflation has fallen due to lower energy prices, the prices of core services and goods remain stubbornly high and continue to constrain real household disposable income and spending,"

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Like-for-like sales data strips out the impact of changes in store size.