April’s BMBI report is unlike any other. The Government enforced COVID-19 lockdown came late in March, so had a limited impact on the month. However, April took the full force, with many trades not working and most merchants temporarily closing branches or providing a restricted service only for essential sectors or emergencies. As a result, this report contains unprecedented figures.

Year-on-year

Total Builders Merchants value sales in April were down 76.3% compared with April 2019. All categories saw heavy falls, with Workwear & Safetywear least affected (-60.2%), and Tools (-90.0%) hit hardest. Timber & Joinery Products dropped -79.0%.

Month-on-month

Total merchant value sales in April were 72.1% below March 2020, with two less trading days. All categories were severely hit, with Timber & Joinery Products at -74.4%. Average sales a day, which removes trading day differences, were 69.3% lower overall than in March.

Other periods

Sales in the first four months of 2020 were 25.2% lower than in January to April 2019, with one more trading day this year. Workwear & Safetywear (+4.4%) was the only category that sold more – driven by strong demand for protective equipment in March.

Index

April’s BMBI index was 29.0 and all categories were well down. For Timber & Joinery Products the index was 15.3.