ONS figures show retail sales volumes up 1.2 per cent in May after April fall

Great Britain retail sales volumes rose 1.2 per cent month on month in May 2026, rebounding after a revised 1.0 per cent fall in April, with non-food stores and online sales leading the recovery.

Retail sales volumes across Great Britain grew by 1.2 per cent in May 2026 compared with April — a reversal of the 1.0 per cent fall recorded the previous month, according to figures published by the Office for National Statistics. The three-month picture is more measured: volumes rose by just 0.4 per cent in the three months to May 2026 compared with the three months to February 2026, pointing to gradual rather than sharp recovery in consumer spending.

Department stores performed well in May, with ONS commentary attributing part of the boost to good weather driving demand for seasonal goods. Non-store retailing — primarily online sales — also saw strong growth, lifting volumes to their highest level since early 2022. March had already posted a 0.7 per cent monthly rise before April’s setback, so the figures show an uneven but generally upward trend through the spring.

For Kent, the national picture matters. Retail parks and shopping centres such as Bluewater and Ashford Designer Outlet, along with high streets in Maidstone, Canterbury and Tunbridge Wells, all feed into the Great Britain totals. A rise in non-food and department store sales is broadly good news for those locations. And the continued growth in online retailing has its own local dimension — Kent’s distribution centres and courier networks are directly tied to that demand.

The data carry no geographic breakdown at county level, so how Kent retailers specifically fared in May isn’t verifiable from this release alone.

Kent County Council and district councils use ONS retail data when assessing town-centre health and business rates forecasts, so the figures feed into local planning decisions too. The Bank of England and HM Treasury also monitor the series as part of broader assessments of the UK economy. Whether May’s rebound holds in June will depend, as ONS regularly notes, on factors including weather, promotions and consumer confidence — none of which are guaranteed to repeat.