For the month of April, total sales slipped 0.3% year on year compared with a 51.1% increase in April 2021, when ‘non-essential’ retail was allowed to reopen following Covid-19 lockdowns, according to the latest BRC-KPMG Retail Sales Monitor.

Like-for-like sales decreased 1.7% for the period, compared with a 39.6% increase for the same period in 2021. Over the three months to April, food sales decreased 1.8% on a like-for-like basis and 1.3% on a total basis.