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British retail sales declined at a record pace in March due to measures taken to fight the spread of coronavirus, data from the British Retail Consortium, or BRC, showed Thursday. According to BRC-KPMG retail sales monitor, retail sales decreased 4.3 percent on a yearly basis in March, the sharpest fall since records began in 1995.
At the same time, like-for-like sales declined 3.5 percent from the same period last year.
"The headline figure masked even more dramatic swings: food and essentials faced an unprecedented surge in demand in the early part of March, only to drop significantly into negative growth after the lockdown and introduction of social distancing in stores," Helen Dickinson, chief executive at BRC, said.
The closure of non-essential shops led to deserted high streets and high double-digit declines in sales, which even a rise in online shopping could not compensate for, Dickinson added.
