Retail sales volumes in the United Kingdom are estimated to have observed a 0.9% drop in March, in contrast with February's revised gain of 1.1%, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) stated in its report published on Friday. The figure came in lower-than-expected.
On an annual level, the figure fell by 3.1%, in line with analysts' predictions. Compared to the volumes recorded in February 2020, before the COVID-19 pandemic began, the figure went down by 0.7%. The largest decline was primarily driven by non-food stores sales, which slipped 1.3% in March, following a moderate rebound last month.
The downward trend was followed by a drop in non-store retailing, in which sales shrank by 0.8% month-on-month driven mostly by online retailers. Food store sales volumes dipped 0.7%, while automotive fuel sales volumes gained 0.2% in March.
