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. 

According to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), sales volumes fell by 0.6% in the three months to July 2025, compared with the three months to April 2025. 

However, on a monthly basis, sales volumes rose 0.6% in July following a 0.3% increase in June, suggesting some momentum returning after the softer spring period.

The fall followed four months of consecutive three-month on three-month growth, and volumes were up 0.4% compared with the three months to July 2024. 

The ONS said the drop was mainly due to falls in food stores, sports, game and toy retailers, as well as household goods stores. However, they were partly offset by an increase at online retailers. 

Sales volumes at online retailers rose 2.5% in July, putting them at their highest level since February 2022, with retailers suggesting good weather and sporting events like the women’s Euros boosted sales. 

Non-food store sales volumes, which include clothing, household, and other non-food stores, rose by 0.6% over the month. Clothing stores rose 2.5% over the month and 5.5% over the year, their largest annual rise since January 2023 – putting sales volumes at their highest since June 2023.

Online spending values rose 2% over the month to July 2025, by 3.7% when compared with last year, and by 2.2% when comparing the three months to July 2025 with the three months to April 2025.

Total spend across online and stores rose by 1.0% over the month. 

Corrections to the data

The release of the July data was delayed as the ONS said that it had identified a problem with the seasonal adjustment it used for data collection in the early part of 2025, with critical moments such as adjustments for moving Easter and phase shift effects being wrong. 

As a result, the economic narrative earlier this year was reported incorrectly by the ONS, making the economy look stronger than it was, and a subsequent fall in sales seem more dramatic.  

For example, corrections made by the ONS show that sales growth in January 2025 was initially reported as 1.4% when it was actually a 0.4% drop. May was initially reported as a 2.8% decline, and has since been corrected to a 1% decline. 

The ONS said it “will be working with retailers” to move to calendar month reporting by 2026 to avoid these complexities in the future. 

Topics