Have you cut back on your supermarket spending?
The ONS said its feedback from supermarkets also suggested customers were spending less on their food shop because of the rising cost of living.
Retail sales overall fell by 0.5% in May, the ONS said, and it also revised down its sales growth figure for April to 0.4% from its previous estimate of 1.4%. Sarah Coles, senior personal finance analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, said the "horror" of April's unprecedented rise in energy bills "swallowed a much bigger slice" of households' income and "kept their appetite for spending under control".
This ONS report chimes with a survey commissioned by the BBC which found 56% of people asked had bought fewer groceries, and the same proportion had skipped meals. Workers and unions have been pushing for pay rises, with strikes on the railways this week and BA workers at Heathrow voting to strike over the summer.
The ONS said that while food sales fell, fuel sales volumes rose by 1.1% in May - despite record high petrol prices.
United Kingdom Latest News, United Kingdom Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Cost of living: People cut back on food shopping as price rises biteRetail sales fell 0.5% in May as households cut spending in supermarkets due to the rising cost of living.
Read more »
Struggling Brits rely on credit more than ever amid cost-of-living crisisMORE than six in 10 Brits are relying on credit and finance more than ever – with younger people feeling the pinch the most. A poll of 2,000 adults found 60 per cent of 25-34-year-olds believ…
Read more »
Six trees in Blackpool town centre cost £174k, council saysBlackpool Council says a government grant was spent on the trees and building an underground system.
Read more »
The high cost of schools closed by covidMaking up for Latin America’s lengthy school closures
Read more »
Dacia is a socialist brand reborn, bringing low-cost functional car design to the massesIn a world where many automotive companies are on a relentless drive upmarket, Dacia is a noble outlier. A committed budget brand, its history can be traced back to 1966 when it was founded as Romania\u2019s state car manufacturer. To begin with, Dacia built Renaults under licence, the most famous...
Read more »