BRC: As cost limitations mount, sales in the UK are slowing

LONDON: The British Retail Consortium (BRC) reported reduced annual sales growth last month, owing to increased consumer spending pressures as well as seasonal factors like as the Easter holiday, which stimulates spending.

Total retail expenditure among BRC members – mostly major chains and supermarkets – was 3.1 percent higher than a year ago, down from 6.7 percent in February, according to the organisation.

According to the BRC, prices grew by 2.1 percent among its members in the year to March, the highest increase in 11 years, resulting in a substantially lower growth in sales volumes.

According to government forecasters, consumers are facing the worst cost-of-living squeeze since records began in the 1950s, and the Bank of England and economists are closely monitoring retail data for signs of a slowdown in consumer spending.

“As consumer confidence continued to erode, sales slowed in March, and while spending remained higher than last year, this is largely due to rising costs,” said Helen Dickinson, BRC chief executive.

According to Susan Barratt, CEO of retail data firm IGD, which provides the BRC with food purchasing statistics, some poorer shoppers are already skipping meals to save money.

The official measures of consumer price inflation, which encompass a wider variety of goods and services than the BRC gauge, hit a 30-year high of 6.2 percent in February.

According to Don Williams, a partner at poll sponsors KPMG, wealthier households may be redirecting spending away from consumer products and toward overseas trips, which were previously unattainable owing to COVID limitations.

Official numbers released on Monday showed a big rise in holiday reservations in February, as a wave of Omicron cases faded.

Easter fell sooner in 2021 than in 2022, raising food consumption in March, owing to COVID rules closing bars and restaurants. Non-essential stores were also closed, however supermarkets and internet sellers were unaffected.

According to the BRC, a ‘like-for-like’ assessment that only included retail outlets that were open in March 2021 found a 0.4 percent yearly reduction in expenditure.

Separate statistics from payment processor Barclaycard, which handles around half of all British credit and debit card transactions, found that when gasoline prices climbed, so did fuel usage.

Over half of families said they would switch to budget or own-brand groceries to save money.

Overall card spending climbed by 17.7% between March 2019 and March 2022, according to Barclaycard. Consumer prices have climbed by a little more than 8% in the same time period.