Retail sales have been through unprecedented times of change, predominantly due to the pandemic. This article will explore the retail sales in the UK and the US, and compare them to see which retail sector thrived the most in 2021.
Retail sales in the US
The sales in the US have varied since the 2020 pandemic. During 2020, sales figures changed drastically. By the time April 2020 came about, figures were at an all-time low, showing a fall in revenue of 15.5% since the previous month. However, despite the pandemic, the figures once again began to rise. According to Oberlo, “they rose so well that the sales figures were the highest they had been in the US for at least a decade ($5.58 trillion)”.
In accordance with the US Census Bureau, by the first quarter of 2021 retail sales had already reached $1.58 trillion. The National Retail Federation forecasts that retail sales will exceed $4.44 trillion, which is $1.14 trillion less than the previous year of 2020.
Sales for this year are currently at $3.25 trillion, which is substantially lower than the National Retail Federation expected. It is important to note, however, that the year is not yet over, and so these figures have the potential to rise, particularly over the holiday season.
US retail sales according to Census.gov and Oberlo:
With regard to online e-commerce sales, census.gov shows that e-commerce sales accounted for 13% of total sales in the third quarter of 2021. This shows the increasing popularity of online shopping, and the ease it brings people who are looking to make retail purchases without leaving their home.
Online sales rose substantially during 2020 due to government restrictions set in place. Fewer people were going out to shops, and as a result, they used e-commerce websites such as Amazon. Statista shows that by the end of 2020, Amazon had made $125 billion—which was an increase from $87 billion the previous year. However, Amazon’s sales have been steadily increasing since 2007. Which saw revenue of $5.67 billion by the end of the year. This substantial rise shows not only the popularity of Amazon, but also the increased popularity of online shopping and e-commerce.
Retail sales in the UK
The UK sales have been slightly different from that of the US, and experts from Attest say that this is due to the differences in behaviors and timing in the way the governments reacted to the pandemic. The US saw a drop in retail figures in April 2020, and the Office for National Statistics report a monumental drop in figures for the UK between March and June. However, this drop was only temporary, much like in the US.
November 2021 saw a positive rise in figures, showing an increase of 1.4% from last year. The rise was predicted to be 0.8%, and as such, retailers were feeling optimistic about the holiday season.
Despite rising figures in the UK, The CBI’s monthly distributive trades survey shows that sales have slowed down considerably since the government announced plan B due to the recent Omicron surge. The Employer’s Lobby goes on to explain that sales are the lowest they have been since March 2021.
Retailers had been optimistic regarding the holiday season and predicted that, like November, sales figures would be higher than ever. However, plan B has changed this, and they are now growing concerned about the figures for the next two months.
A comparison
Whilst both the US and the UK had begun to recover well from the pandemic of 2020, the new wave of Omicron has haltered the success in the UK.
The sales of the US are substantially higher than in the UK, and this could primarily be because of the population differences in each country. The UK has 67.22 million citizens, whereas the US has 329.5 million. This stark contrast shows why the US retail sales are so much higher than the UK.
In regard to online shopping, studies by Attest show that over 50% of UK consumers habitually use online shopping for non-food-related products. However, this figure is much lower in the US, showing that only 37% of consumers spend their money online. Food shopping online is similar, showing that 40% of US citizens use online shopping. However, 53% of UK citizens use online shopping for their food-related products.
Whilst the retail sales figures are lower in general for the UK, these statistics show that online e-commerce shopping is more frequently used in the UK than in the US.
These shopping trends show many differences within the two countries, predominantly due to the difference in the size of each country and the cultures that inhabit them.
