Parcelhero: Retail had a strong May with e-commerce leading the way
After last month’s wobble, when the value of online sales tumbled by 2.3%, e-commerce bounced back with a vengeance this May, reveals the latest Office for National Statistics (ONS) retail sales bulletin.
Brits shrugged off April’s caution and started to splash the cash again last month, says the home delivery specialist Parcelhero. Parcelhero’s Head of Consumer Research, David Jinks M.I.L.T., says: ‘Overall, retail sales volumes rose by 1.2% last month. However, it was online where May’s sales really shone. Non-store retailers (the ONS category which is predominantly online sellers) reported their sales volumes – the amount we all bought – were up a whopping 6.1% against April. Not only did this mean online sales volumes reached their highest level since January 2022, but it was the largest such rise in this category since February 2025.
“It wasn’t just in terms of sales volumes that e-commerce sellers enjoyed a bumper May. The value of online sales (the amount we all spent) also soared. It rose by 3.3% against April and a spectacular 12.2% year-on-year (YOY), against May 2025. Online retailers say that promotions and hot weather boosted sales of items such as outdoor furniture and fans.
“The ONS is keen that attention focuses on the three-month growth rate, which tends to give a more accurate picture than single month results, which can be very volatile. Here again, though, e-commerce has shone. Non-store retailers (the sector that comprises mainly online retailers) saw their sales volumes rise by 1.6% over the three month period to May 2026. Similarly, e-commerce sales values jumped 3.4% in the same period. One final healthy result is that the three month period saw sales jump a healthy 9.8% YOY compared with the same three months to May 2025.
“What’s clear is that retailers with both a physical and digital presence are best positioned to weather whatever the month throws at them – whether peak trading periods boom or disappoint.” Parcelhero has just released “2030: The High Street Fights Back?“, a follow-up to its widely read 2016 report “2030: The Death of the High Street”. The new publication explores how e-commerce growth and disruptions like the pandemic have reshaped town centres over the past decade. Its central finding is that, while the High Street is unlikely to vanish by 2030, it faces a defining moment of transformation.
