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British retail sales fell in May for the first time since January, despite strong sales of replica football shirts ahead of the World Cup, official data has shown.
Figures by the Office of National Statistics have shown that retail sales in May dropped 0.5% compared with the previous month, retail sales still remain 3.9% higher than a year ago but have slowed from April’s near ten-year high of 6.5%.
The ONS said that the fall would have been bigger had it not been for strong sales in sports stores, driven by football shirt sales.
Non-seasonally adjusted data showed that the average weekly spend in the retail industry in May 2014 was £7bn, compared with £6.8bn in May 2013 and £7bn in April 2014.
The amount spent online in May increased by 15.1% compared to May 2013 and by 1.5% compared with April 2014.
The fall in retail sales came despite a drop in prices in stores, which declined by 0.7% – the biggest drop in prices since September 2009.
This was in part due to the failing fuel prices, which fell 2.2%. The food store sector is now at its lowest level since March 2006%.
