Latest ONS retail sales data
Charts of the Week: Lidl overtakes Morrisons; retail sales start to sag
There is a new member of the grocery top five and why the quarterly retail sales trends are important.
The Office for National Statistics produces a wide range of economic, social and population data, including a monthly update on retail sales in the UK.
There is a new member of the grocery top five and why the quarterly retail sales trends are important.
Advertisement
The ONS has reported that sales volumes fell by 1.3% month on month in April, the fastest pace in nearly a year, down from a 0.6% rise in March.
There are just a few weeks to go until the World Cup starts, and retail is hoping it might lift the glum mood that consumers are in.
The volume of goods bought rose by 0.7% in March, down from 0.6% in February. The ONS said that fuel sales rose sharply during the month as consumers stocked up in the midst of accelerating price rises.
Three charts give us an idea of what to expect over the next few months as the impacts of the Iran war truly begin to take hold
Retail sales volumes fell slightly last month, but remained up in the three months to February, as shoppers pulled back on post-January spending, official data shows.
Retail sales grew way ahead of consensus expectations in January, but the online sales trends were also eye-catching
Retail sales rebounded during the first month of 2026, with the biggest monthly rise recorded since May 2024.
Last year delivered the first meaningful sales volume growth in years, but retail is hankering after the growth rates it had back in 2016. The ONS numbers also showed a surprising boom in “books, newspapers and periodicals” sales
Retail sales volumes rose in December despite a quarterly decline.
Month-on-month retail sales volumes edged down in November but were up year on year, official data showed.
There is a lot of uncertainty around Cyber Weekend this year, with the autumn Budget, consumer behaviour changing and how consumers access products, too. To unpick those trends, here is our bumper edition of Chart of the Week
Retail sales crept up in September as back-to-school shopping and a seasonal change drove spending and volume growth.
Retail sales volumes are estimated to have crept up in August, as fashion and online-only retailers benefited from good weather.
The Office for National Statistics has admitted to errors in how retail sales were presented for the first half of the year. We dig into what happened and what it means
Retail sales volumes were sluggish at the beginning of summer, with shoppers buying less food and drink and fewer household goods, but momentum returned in July.
When stacked against comparable countries in Europe based on sales volumes change since 2021, the UK lags most of them. Germany, France and Spain have all performed better since then
UK retail sales are estimated to have risen 1.2% in April, marking the fourth straight month of growth and reaching their highest level since July 2021.
May saw a drop in retail sales volumes across the UK, making it the largest fall in nearly 18 months, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
Retail sales climbed last month, according to official data.
Clothing and outdoor retailers cited good weather as the reason for a rise in sales volumes, which rose by 0.4% versus the previous month. Analysts had been expecting a 0.4% fall.