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Retail sales growth slows as food inflation bites

Retail sales growth slows as food inflation bites
(Photo by DANIEL LEAL/AFP via Getty Images)
AFP via Getty Images

UK retail sales growth slowed in May as soaring food prices hit shoppers hard, official data showed Friday.

Total retail sales by volume rose 0.3 per cent after climbing 0.5 per cent in April, the Office for National Statistics said in a statement.


Food stores sales volumes fell by 0.5 per cent in May, with retailers indicating "that increased cost-of-living and food prices continued to affect sales volumes", the ONS added.

Shops were impacted also by "some anecdotal evidence of increased spending on takeaways and fast food" owing to an extra public holiday last month for the coronation of King Charles III.

Overall sales climbed thanks to cheaper fuel and demand for summer clothing and outdoor goods, the ONS noted.

Annual food price inflation was close to a record-high of 18.4 per cent in May, official UK data showed this week.

Overall inflation stood at 8.7 per cent, unchanged from April, causing the Bank of England (BoE) on Thursday to hike its key interest rate by a larger-than-expected amount.

The half-point lift to a 15-year peak of five percent was the 13th increase in a row.

Millions of Britons who have home loans are particularly affected as commercial lenders pass on the BoE rate hike.

Chancellor Jeremy Hunt was Friday meeting with major UK mortgage lenders to discuss possible support measures for struggling customers, including those in arrears.

On food, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak Thursday acknowledged that households' weekly shopping bills had "gone up far too much in the past few months".

"We're looking at the supermarkets, making sure that they're behaving responsibly and fairly when it comes to pricing all those products, to make sure that we're easing the burdens," he added.

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Seven out of 10 respondents (72 per cent) said their stores had experienced shoplifting, break ins and damage to property, while they and their staff had been physically or verbally threatened.

Just under half of respondents (47 per cent) said they and their employees had been threatened or had suffered abuse and violence when asking for proof of age ahead of selling an age-restricted product.

Forty-four per cent reported that they and their staff had faced abuse or violence because they had refused to make a proxy sale – selling an age restricted product to a customer buying for a minor.

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“Inadequate responses from the police and a slap on the wrist for offenders means that shoplifting is soaring, and offenders are becoming more aggressive and brazen,” said Fed National President Mo Razzaq.

“From the responses we received, it is clear that real action is needed by police, by courts and by the government to stem the overwhelming tide of crime against retailers and their staff. Everyone deserves to feel safe at work and for their businesses to be protected against criminals.

“Fed members are also sending a clear message that one of the catalysts for verbal and physical abuse in stores is asking for proof of age before selling an age restricted product. If the government presses ahead with its plans to phase out smoking and vaping through a progressive ban to gradually end the sale of tobacco products across the country, independent retailers will be subject to even greater levels of violence, abuse and theft.”

Calling for action from the government and not just words, Mr Razzaq continued: “Without effective deterrent, criminals and opportunistic members of the public will continue to commit crimes.”

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