A year on from lockdown 1.0 we may finally be seeing some growth in the retail sector.
In a period where some retail giants closed their doors for good, it seemed that this might be the end for the high street as we know it. However, data provided by the Office of National Statistics suggest that there is light at the end of the tunnel as the vaccine program is rolled out and we continue in our roadmap to recovery.
In general, there was a monthly sales increase of 9.2% across the UKs retail sector. And ONS note that: “Sales volumes were 10.6% higher than February 2020, before the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.”
So, sales have generally increased across the board, and not just through online purchasing. The same report claims: “All retail sectors reported a fall in their proportions of online sales as physical stores re-opened during the month [that shops re-opened].”
Research published via Statica.com claims that retail growth declined by 5.7% in 2020 due to the pandemic. There is positive news to come it seems, with total growth in 2021 set to be 7.2% and a further 6.6% in 2022.
This bodes well for shoppers, concerned with the closures of big names – provided we keep on top of the pandemic.
