'It is clear the post-pandemic spending bubble has burst.'
The fall in May marks the second consecutive month of declining retail sales, as reported by the regular BRC-KPMG retail sales monitor.
"Retailers will be hoping that a post-Jubilee and summer feel-good factor begins to improve confidence amongst some shoppers - as presently overall confidence levels are lower than sales may suggest," said Paul Martin, UK head of retail at KPMG. "We've seen a definite slowdown and we're having to work that much harder to give better value than ever," she told the BBC's Today programme."So whereas sometimes it might have been more of an impulse purchase, nowadays they're looking very carefully at what they want to buy."Over the four-day Jubilee bank holiday weekend, people did spend significantly more than the equivalent dates last year data from Barclaycard on Monday suggested.
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