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British consumers cut back on non-essential spending

Jun 16, 2025 United Kingdom

According to the British Retail Consortium (BRC), May recorded the slowest growth in retail sales in 2025, as fashion and full price big-ticket items suffered from lower consumer confidence

“Consumers put the brakes on spending, with the slowest growth in 2025 so far. This was due largely to declines in Non-food sales, as fashion and full price big-ticket items were held back by lower consumer confidence”, said Helen Dickinson, Chief Executive of the British Retail Consortium, reacting to the latest retail sales data from the organisation.

Between the 4^th and the 31^stof May, total retail sales in the UK increased by 1% year-on-year, as compared to growth of 0.7% in May 2024. This reflects a slowdown from April’s performance, when retail sales increased by 7%, reversing the 4% seen in April 2024.

During this period, food sales rose by 3.6% year-on-year, against a growth of 2.8% in the same month last year. In contrast, non-food sales decreased by 1.1% year-on-year, against a decline of 1.1% in the same month last year.

It’s worth highlighting within non-food sales that store sales declined by 0.9% year-on-year, as compared to a 2.6% decline in May 2024 and online sales declined by 1.5% year-on-year, as compared to growth of 1.5% in May 2024.

“While the sunshine continued, the pace of retail sales growth didn’t in May. Early seasonal purchases were likely a factor, as was a dampening of some spending appetite as households reflected upon the recent combination of essential bill rises. But May still saw slight growth, driven mainly by food and drink, with non-food purchases falling overall”, summed up Linda Ellett, UK Head of Consumer, Retail & Leisure, KPMG.

Image Credits: Elina Emurlaeva on Unsplash

United Kingdom Consumption Fashion Organisations Retail Sales