We All Spent More But Ended Up With Less As Inflation Took Hold In May

25th June 2022

The Government's retail figures for May make grim reading, with the amount of goods we bought falling by -0.5% even though the amount we spent actually rose by 0.6%. ParcelHero says it is no wonder as 93% of consumers complained the cost of their food shop increased during the month.

Today's Office for National Statistics (ONS) retail figures for May highlight the impact soaring inflation is having on shoppers, says the home delivery expert ParcelHero. The amount of goods we bought fell by -0.5% against the previous month, even though the amount we spent increased by 0.6%. In other words, we spent more on food and goods in May but took home less.

The reason for the increase in the amount we all spent in May, despite a fall in sales volumes, is not hard to find, says ParcelHero’s Head of Consumer Research, David Jinks M.I.L.T.: ‘Consumers grew very concerned in May, with 88% of shoppers telling the ONS that their cost of living had increased. A whopping 93% blamed the rise on the cost of basic food shopping.

‘It’s an even sorrier story when we compare this May to the same month last year. We spent 5% more in stores and online this May than we did in 2021, yet the amount of goods we purchased fell by -4.7% year-on-year.

‘Online sales suffered the impact of inflation as much as the High Street. The amount we spent online fell by -1.7% compared to April, as shoppers drew in their horns. Again, the real damage is most obvious when we compare this May’s spending with last year’s. The amount we spent online tumbled -7.9% compared to May 2021, before soaring inflation became a significant problem. Consumers are obviously cutting back on all non-essential spending, and who can blame them?

‘Despite this fall, online shopping retained 26.6% of the overall retail market, considerably more than the 19.7% it achieved in February 2020, before the pandemic changed shopping habits forever.

‘Longer term, UK retailers must align their High Street and online sales to counteract a likely further fall in consumer confidence in the months ahead. ParcelHero’s influential report "2030: Death of the High Street" has been discussed in Parliament. It reveals that, unless retailers develop an omnichannel approach, embracing both online and physical store sales, the High Street as we know it will reach a dead-end by 2030. Read the full report at: https://www.parcelhero.com/content/downloads/pdfs/high-street/deathofthehighstreetreport.pdf