ONS data shows bricks and mortar spending is recovering, but web sales are here to stay
With online shopping, hobbies and habits, the pandemic has had a big impact of where people’s money goes – but retail spending of money through bricks-and-mortar checkouts is on the road to recovery.
Data from the Office For National Statistics (ONS) shows Brits are still spending substantially more online overall than before Covid hit, with seasonally-adjusted internet sales for May 2022 accounting for 26.6% of all official retail sales, compared to 19.7% in February 2020.
However, some sectors are faring much better than others in the bricks-and-mortar claw-back than others – greeting cards being one of them.
While greeting cards are not mentioned separately they do feature within the stationery sector, and the good news is the ONS monthly business survey for the stationery, books and newspapers category shows the proportion of online spending is returning to 2019 levels, although the quantity bought has still not hit the same amount.
In the stationery, books and newspapers category, October 2019 saw 5.6% bought online, which rose to 24.7% as soon as the first lockdown hit in March 2020 and had increased to a 51.1% high by May 2020. It fell back to 6.4% in July 2020, before rising again to 49.1% in February 2021 as further lockdowns ensued, and has gradually dropped since to 7.9% in March 2022.
Government High Streets Task Force expert and ShopAppy founder Dr Jackie Mulligan said: “People shopping online more in the digital age is inevitable and was a trend simply accelerated by the pandemic. However, it’s encouraging to see that, in recent months, more people are starting to return to bricks-and-mortar stores.
“Shopping, for many, is a social as much as a transactional experience and the local shops that line our High Streets are the beating heart of communities.”
“The various lockdowns, especially the first, showed the key role local shops play in supporting their communities, as well as highlighting the importance of shorter supply chains. A bond was struck between communities and their local shops during the pandemic and long may it continue. Shopping local is for life, not just for lockdowns.”
The ONS reported last week that retail spending, in money going through checkouts, has largely recovered compared with pre-pandemic levels, but the cost of living is having an impact on transactions and how much people are buying in volumes.
This means that, while overall the amount Brits are spending is now above pre-pandemic levels, this is largely owing to rising prices rather than the number of purchases – in May 2022 retail spending was 13% higher than in February 2020, but retail volumes were only up by 2.6%.
Rising prices have led to changes in behaviour. Two weeks ago, 62% of adults asked in the ONS Opinions & Lifestyle Survey said they had reduced spending on non-essentials as a result of the cost-of-living crisis.
