In-store retail sales surge due to lift of lockdown, ONS says

21 May 2021, 11:43 | Updated: 21 May 2021, 11:55

In-store high street sales soared in April thanks to the easing of nationwide lockdown restrictions, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) has said.

The re-opening of non-essential shops was behind the numbers soaring, according to the ONS.

Physical stores opened in England and Wales on 12 April and on 26 April in Scotland.

Compared to April 2020, when the country was in lockdown, sales were up around 43 per cent.

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Non-food stores saw the biggest jump in the volume of sales, with clothing stores having the largest growth of 69.4 per cent.

Sales reached 10 per cent higher than pre-pandemic levels, but online purchases saw a drop as a result.

Aled Jones, head of retail at Lloyds Bank, said: "Fashion retailers [were] the ultimate beneficiaries of beer gardens reopening and the 'rule of six' night out returning."

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Fuel retailers also saw an increase of 10.6 per cent in sales from the previous month following the easing of lockdown measures.

However, the volume of sales was still 9.9 per cent lower than before the pandemic.

Online sites originally saw the biggest increase over lockdown, with a 56 per cent increase in sales compared to April 2019.

Their sales decreased from 34.7 per cent in March to 30 per cent in April, with food online stores seeing a large decline, potentially due to the reopening of restaurants and bars.