Retail sales tumbled last month as Brits braced for impact from the Middle East crisis - with hopes pinned on boost from England success at World Cup

By JAMES TAPSFIELD, UK POLITICAL EDITOR Published: 08:09, 22 May 2026 | Updated: 08:16, 22 May 2026 Retail sales tumbled last month as Brits braced for impact from the Middle East crisis - with hopes pinned on England success at the World Cup.  Volumes fell 1.3 per cent last month - the steepest drop for almost a year - as demand for fuel and clothing waned. That followed a 0.6 per cent rise in March, which was partly due to drivers responding to spiking prices by hoarding petrol and diesel. Analysts said signs were mounting of consumers cutting back in response to the Iran turmoil, with businesses pinning hopes on a summer boost from the global sporting festival. Yesterday Rachel Reeves unveiled temporary VAT cuts to children's tickets at family attractions like theme parks, as well as kids' meals at restaurants.     Retail sales tumbled last month as Brits braced for impact from the Middle East crisis Analysts said signs were mounting of consumers cutting back in response to the Iran turmoil, with businesses pinning hopes on a summer boost from the football World Cup. Pictured, England playing Japan in a friendly in March ONS Chief Economist Grant Fitzner said sales volumes were still up 0.5 per cent on a rolling three-month basis. That is largely due to a bounceback at the beginning of the year.  'After strong growth last month, motor fuel sales fell in April, with evidence suggesting motorists were conserving fuel after stocking up in March,' he said.  'These subdued fuel purchases contributed to a sizeable monthly fall for total retail sales in April.' Samuel Edwards of global financial services firm Ebury said: 'With margins already under strain, many firms are operating in an increasingly challenging environment. 'The summer period, supported by warmer weather, major sporting events and the school holidays, represents a critical trading window for retailers.' Matt Jeffers, managing director of retail strategy and consulting at Accenture, said the drop was partly down to the early timing of Easter. 'But the fall suggests consumer caution is cutting deeper as shoppers continue to hold back on spending amid ongoing geopolitical uncertainty,' he added. 'Looking ahead, retailers can be optimistic that the World Cup and warmer weather in the summer holiday season will drive demand, particularly across food, drink, and home entertainment, though the challenge will be managing an increasingly uneven consumer market.'  Yesterday Rachel Reeves unveiled temporary VAT cuts to children's tickets at family attractions like theme parks, as well as kids' meals at restaurants The comments below have not been moderated. The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. To do this we will link your MailOnline account with your Facebook account. We’ll ask you to confirm this for your first post to Facebook. You can choose on each post whether you would like it to be posted to Facebook. Your details from Facebook will be used to provide you with tailored content, marketing and ads in line with our Privacy Policy.