UK retailers saw sales fall back last month as April’s record-breaking temperatures gave way to wetter weather in May.

Sales volume in May fell by 0.5% on a month-on-month basis, with value also reducing by 0.3%, figures from the Office for National Statistics revealed.

Supermarkets, specialist food stores and tobacco retailers saw a 0.1% dip in sales in May compared to April, while non-food sales dropped 0.5%.

“In contrast to Easter’s unseasonably high temperatures, early May bank holiday showers put a slight dampener on consumer spending,” Deloitte’s head of retail Ian Geddes said.

Alongside the weather-related woes, political and economical uncertainty are “weighing heavily” on consumer and business confidence, manager at the British Retail Consortium Anne Alexandre commented.

However, when compared with the same month in 2018, both the amount spent and quantity bought recorded growth of 2.7% and 2.3% respectively in May 2019.

On an annual basis, food stores reported volume sales growth of 0.3%, slower than the 0.9% increase registered by non-food retailers.

Looking ahead at the remaining summer months, Deloitte’s Geddes said sales will continue to largely depend on weather.

He added: “The grey clouds that have continued to gather in June may foretell further headwinds for retailers for the rest of the month.

”Summer’s sales values and volumes will be weather-dependent and retailers will be eagerly awaiting the return of sunshine and warm weather.”

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