UK Retail Sales Report summary
May 2025
Period covered: Period covered: 06 April – 03 May 2025
3 minute read
Note: This report summary is one or two months behind the current month as standard reporting practice. The content is indicative only and incomplete with certain data undisclosed. Become a member to access this data or take out a free 30-day membership trial now.
Retail Sales Performance:
Retail sales rose by xx% year-on-year in April according to the Retail Economics Retail Sales Index.
Across March and April combined, sales rose xx%, compared to xx% in 2024.
Factors impacting sales include warm sunny weather, the late timing of Easter, real wage growth, continued consumer and business uncertainty, increased bills and a jump in inflation.
Sunny climate
Retail received a boost in April with the combination of a late Easter, sunny warm weather, and a seasonal shift into longer evenings and increased socialising.
However, while retailers enjoyed a buoyant month, the sunny weather is unlikely to last forever and underlying conditions remain uncertain, with continued consumer caution, rising unemployment and increased costs.
Late Easter
The April timing of Easter boosted sales and shoppers returned to DIY, gardening and clothing, with both in-store and online channels seeing growth. Food, drink and leisure spending picked up, driven by increased social gatherings amid lighter evenings. Non-essential categories performed well both online and in-store.
Clothing (+xx%) and Footwear (+xx%) performed well, with warm weather boosting sales of new season lines, as summer holidays and events like weddings started to loom into view.
DIY and gardening (+xx%) sales surged as shoppers embraced the shift into spring and embarked on home projects.
Food sales rose xx% YoY, up from xx% in March as households planned Easter gatherings and other social events. Restaurant spend also rose xx% (Barclays).
Home related categories including homewares (+xx%), electricals (xx%), and furniture and flooring (+xx%) all performed well, benefitting from increased hosting, the spring-cleaning mindset, and a rush of housing completions ahead of the April change to stamp duty rules.
Basket abandonment
Recent research from Retail Economics found that in 2024, xx% of purchases were abandoned at the final stage.
This equates to £38bn of lost sales in 2024 due to poorly managed processes or a poor customer experience at the final stage of purchase. This is up xx% on the year before.
Retailers are also aware of the issues they face in this space, rating basket abandonment as one of their lowest-performing areas when it comes to capability.
Much of the issue relates to poor delivery options, with customers abandoning transactions at the last minute after not finding the delivery option they want.
The research, based on a survey of 2,000 consumers, found that two-thirds (xx%) of frequent online shoppers abandon a purchase at least once a month due to unsatisfactory delivery options.
Meanwhile, nearly half (xx%) of all consumers say they abandon transactions because of shortcomings such as a lack of delivery options and high delivery costs.
The issue is particularly pronounced among Gen Z shoppers, with xx% abandoning purchases monthly because of insufficient delivery options, underscoring how younger, high-frequency shoppers are the least tolerant of poor delivery experiences.
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Consumer confidence fell in April in response to Trump’s tariffs
Source: Retail Economics analysis, GFK
