British high street fashion retailers struggled to sell in May

British high street fashion retailers faced a sales slump this May, brought on by a slowing demand for fashion, accessories, and footwear according to the latest BDO High Street Sales Tracker.

High street fashion sales declined by 3.9 percent last month and like-for-like sales in the fashion market dropped 3.6 percent in comparison to the same month last year, according to the report published Friday morning. Total high street sales decreased 1.3 percent, as fewer shoppers hit the high streets last month.

May is the fourth month of 2017 not to report any growth in sales in stores, as consumers across the UK chose to spend their money on other experiences. "Fashion has posted negative monthly like-for-like sales in four out of the five months for the year-to-date," says BDO in its report. "Sales were negative in the first three weeks of May, before bouncing into positive territory with the better weather in the last week of the month, but off of a poor base last year."

Lifestyle was highlighted as the "star performer" in May, as high street sales for the category grew 3.9 percent. But it remains a tough month for fashion and its poor performance dragged down the total sales results of May, according to BDO.

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