British retail sales fell in May on easing lockdown curbs

British retail sales fell in May on easing lockdown curbs

LONDON: British retail sales fell last month on easing lockdown curbs, as people dined at bars and restaurants instead of buying food at supermarkets, data showed Friday. Sales by volume declined 1.4 percent in May after a 9.2-percent bounce in April, the Office for National Statistics said. Food stores were the hardest hit, with sales sinking 5.7 percent as Britons took advantage of reopening hospitality. Under the phased reopening of Britain's battered economy, bars and restaurants restarted outdoor dining in April and indoor services in May. "Instead of eating every meal at home as we all did during lockdowns, we were able to dine outside at cafes or restaurants,“ said Capital Economics analyst Paul Dales. "Spending just shifted from the shops to social activities,“ he said, but warned however that "soft retail sales data could mean May was not as strong for the economy as we had thought.“ Overall UK retail sales in April and May were nevertheless 9.1 percent higher than the pre-pandemic level in February 2020. The UK also reopened nonessential retail in April, allowing the broader British economy to recover further from pandemic fallout on the rapid vaccines rollout. The economy is now expected to fully reopen