Retail sales volumes in the United Kingdom in August decreased 1.6% compared to the previous month, the Office for National Statistics reported on Friday. The decline was bigger than analysts had expected.
All main sectors, food stores, non-food stores, non-store retailing and fuel, fell on a monthly basis for the first time since July 2021. The largest negative contribution came from non-store retailing, in which sales volumes dropped 2.6%. Non-food stores sales declined 1.9% month on month, automotive fuel sales fell by 1.7% and food store sales were down 0.8%.
Retail sales were up 0.5% from pre-COVID-19 levels from February 2020. Online sales as a proportion of all sales stood at 25.7%, down from 26.3% in July but still significantly above 19.8% from February 2020.
