Pandemic spending habits settle to ‘new normal’ after online shopping boom
Pandemic spending habits have “settled into a new normal” with people returning to bricks and mortar stores to ‘try before you buy’ last month.
Total retail sales were up 4.9 per cent in February, compared to the same month in 2020, according to the British Retail Consortium (BRC) and KPMG retail sales monitor.
Sales continued to grow despite the impact of falling consumer confidence and Storm Eunice dampening footfall.
Clothing and footwear categories drove sales after Covid restrictions were lifted and shoppers hunted for back-to-work outfits.
With physical stores open, online non-food sales dropped 28.4 per cent, compared with growth of 82.2 per cent February 2021.
It comes as shoppers flocked to online websites during periods of Covid restrictions and picked up new e-commerce habits.
The BRC’s chief executive, Helen Dickinson, said: “Traditional try-before-you-buy products, like furniture and home accessories, as well as fashion and jewellery, continued to be the highflyers as more people returned to stores.”
Although online sales had dropped in comparison to pandemic highs, “new spending habits driven by the pandemic have settled into a new normal,” she said.
This was especially the case for non-food items, with four in every ten pounds now spent online compared to three in every ten before the pandemic.
“Retail has driven five years’ of digital transformation in 24 tumultuous months,” Dickinson said.
However, retail chiefs warned rising prices and concerns over the cost of living will likely suppress growth in the coming months.
Grocery bills have soared in recent weeks while consumers are also facing huge hikes in energy costs and National Insurance next month.
Paul Martin, UK head of retail at KPMG, said: “As we move into a new phase of managing COVID-19, retailers will be focussed on keeping consumers spending, as the cost-of-living squeeze threatens the health of the sector. With travel very much re-opened retailers are facing a double whammy of competing for share of wallet at the same time as the cost of living hits a high not seen in at least three decades.”