Lockdown roadmap and Valentine's Day lift UK spending in February
Consumer spending data presented a mixed picture in February as both prolonged lockdowns and hopes of reopening the economy drove spending.
According to the British Retail Consortium (BRC) and KPMG's retail sales monitor, on a total basis, sales increased by 1% in February, against a growth of 0.1% in February 2020. This was above three-month average growth of 0.6% and the 12-month average decline of 0.3%.
Showing momentum, UK retail sales increased 9.5% on a like-for-like basis from February 2020, when they had decreased 0.4% from the preceding year.
Despite an overall improving picture, there were some dark spots. Reflecting the shutdown of non-essential retail, over the three months to February, in-store sales of non-food items declined 38.9% on a total and 21.4% on a like-for-like basis, the BRC said. This is better than the 12-month Total average decline of 31.4%. For February, the like-for-like excluding temporarily closed stores remained in decline.
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Helen Dickinson OBE, CEO of the BRC said: “February saw a return to growth after a disappointing start to the year. The prime minister’s roadmap to reopening prompted a burst in spending on non-food items, such as school uniforms.
"Couples staying home for Valentine’s Day found themselves splashing out at their local supermarket, benefiting food sales. Meanwhile, the continued closure of so-called ‘non-essential’ retail has meant that non-food instore sales remained significantly down, underlining the importance of a successful reopening in April."
Non-food online purchases nearly doubled year-on-year from last February, rising from a rate of 30.8% to 60.6% in 2021.
Meanwhile, another monitor on spending from Barclaycard, which sees nearly half of the nation’s credit and debit card transactions, also found consumer spending as a whole fell 13.8% year-on-year in last month, as lockdown restrictions continued.
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Some of its indicators recorded record growth as the first signs of spring lifted the nation’s spirits.
Spending on essential items grew 5.3%. Boosted by food and drink specialist stores – including butchers, greengrocers, fresh food box and meal-kit services – the category saw record growth of 63.3%, 7.5% higher than reported in January.
Barclaycard figures show that as much of the high-street remained closed, spending on non-essential items declined 22.1% year-on-year.
The hospitality and leisure sector also had another challenging month, with overall spend down 68.9% compared with February 2020. Within this category, pubs and bars saw a 95.7% decline, while spending at restaurants fell 84.6%.
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