...And the sector saw the largest year-on-year growth in internet sales out of all other retail categories, tying in with a recent report showing more and more people are looking to the internet for their home improvement purchases.
The Office for National Statistics' retail bulletin for the month showed all retail sales values increased by 3.3% in May 2012 compared with May 2011, with volumes up 2.4%.

For household goods, the 5.1% sales volume increase was the largest its been since January 2011 when it went up by 6.9%. The value of sales rose by 3.9% over the same period, also the largest increase seen since January 2011. Average prices in this sector were estimated to show deflation of 0.5%.

The ONS estimated the average weekly household goods sales were £0.6bn, of this 5.7% of sales (£33.2m) were made via the internet.

Retailers in the predominantly non-food sector saw sales volumes increase by 3.3% and value up by 2.6%. Non-specialised stores, meanwhile saw a volumes boost of 11.3% - the highest since January 2000. A contributor to this increase was an estimated fall in prices of 2% between May 2011 and 2012. Retailers reportedly said that increased sales were due to store promotions.

The value of non-specialised stores' sales rose by 9.3%, with the average weekly sale for May estimated at £0.5bn. Of this 7% were made via the internet.

The total amount spent in the retail sector between 29 April 2012 and 26 May 2012 is estimated at £26.4 billion, non-seasonally adjusted, up from £26.0 billion in April 2012 and £25.6 billion in May 2011. This equates to an average weekly spend of £6.6 billion in May 2012.