According to numbers issued on Friday by the Office of National Statistics, sales volumes decreased by 0.5% in February as buyers reduced spending in supermarkets by 1.6% in response to rising prices.

According to numbers issued on Friday by the Office of National Statistics, sales volumes decreased by 0.5% in February as buyers reduced spending in supermarkets by 1.6% in response to rising prices.

In the three months leading up to May, retail sales decreased by 1.3%, extending a decreasing trend that began in the summer of 2021.

Aside from food purchases, sales volumes were unchanged. Clothing sales climbed by 2.2%, but sales of domestic goods, such as furniture, fell by 2.3%, and department store sales decreased by 1.1%.

In May, the volume of automotive fuel sales increased by 1.1% as more drivers returned to the roads and hybrid vehicles became more widespread.

Helen Dickinson, chief executive officer of the British Retail Consortium, stated, “Households restrained spending as the cost of living squeezed consumer demand further.”

“Many customers are opting for lower-priced goods, notably in the food industry, where they may have previously purchased luxury stuff,” she noted.

“Items of high value, such as furniture and white goods, were also affected by consumers’ rethinking of significant purchases at this difficult period.”

According to Ms. Dickinson, higher operational and input expenses have been reflected in price increases, and as a result, retailers and their customers face “tough times ahead.”

The long-running GfK Consumer Confidence Index flashed red on Friday, declining one point to -41 in June and marking a new record low for the second consecutive month.

Four metrics, including the index measuring personal financial confidence and the index measuring general economic confidence, decreased month-over-month, while one measure stayed unchanged.

Consumer sentiment is currently worse than it was during the early stages of the COVID pandemic, the result of the 2016 Brexit referendum, and even the shock of the 2008 global financial crisis,” said Joe Staton, director of the client strategy at GfK.

Britain faces a stark new economic reality, and history teaches that when the going gets rough, consumers will not hesitate to cut back and tighten their purse strings.