BDO: Spring Sunshine Brings Welcome Relief for Retailers

• Retail sales grow +3.4% in May compared to same month last year
• In-store sales grew +3.2% while online sales were up +9.3%
• Despite the heatwave bringing a boost in spending, major challenges remain for retailers 

Total sales in discretionary categories grew by +3.4% in May compared to the same month last year, according to the latest High Street Sales Tracker from accountancy and business advisory firm BDO. This marks a welcome boost for the retail sector, which last month recorded the weakest April in a decade outside of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Online sales performed particularly strongly, growing by +9.3% compared to the same month last year, while in-store sales recorded above inflation growth of +3.4%, meaning that sales volumes increased for the first time since August 2025. However, these results are compared to negative sales figures in May 2025 (-3.1%).  

Sophie Michael, Head of Retail and Wholesale at BDO, commented: “May’s sunny weather, culminating in the heatwave at the end of month, seems to have brought some temporary relief to retailers after months of very poor trading. 

“May gave us two bank holidays and a half-term break. This, coupled with record temperatures, may well have led to consumers purchasing much-needed summer clothes and items to help make the heatwave a more pleasant experience. The RAC reported that the late May Bank Holiday may be the busiest on record in terms of road users, with many consumers opting to travel to UK destinations rather than overseas, which could also have contributed to the uptick. 

“However, given these results are compared to an incredibly poor performance in May 2025, questions remain over the sustainability of this growth. It will be interesting to see if June’s retail sales fall to the near non-existent levels of growth that we’ve seen for most of this year or even slide back into the negative territory.

“The longer-term picture for retailers remains fairly bleak; already high costs may go even higher due to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz and increasing energy prices, which may also force consumers to tighten their purse strings. Retailers will have welcomed this month’s sales growth but must brace themselves for further challenges ahead.”

Source : BDO

Image : William Barton / Shutterstock / 1184182105

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