ONS: Retail Sales Increased In February

The ONS has published retail sales data for February.

Key points:

• Retail sales volumes (quantity bought) are estimated to have risen by 1.0% in February 2025, following a 1.4% rise in January. Monthly sales volumes in February 2025 were at their highest level since July 2022.
  
  
• Sales volumes rose by 2.2% over the year to February 2025.
  
  
• Volumes were down by 0.4%, compared with their pre-coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic level in February 2020. 

• More broadly, there was a 0.3% rise across the three months to February 2025, when compared with the three months to November 2024. This was because of strong growth in January and February 2025. There was a 2.0% rise when comparing with the same period last year. 

• Non-food store sales volumes – the total of department, clothing, household and other non-food stores – grew 3.1% in February 2025, with rises across all four sub-sectors, while supermarket sales volumes fell back following a strong rise in January 2025. This put monthly sales volumes at their highest level since March 2022. Household goods stores rose by 6.8%, their largest monthly rise since April 2021, with hardware stores having the largest upward contribution.
  
  
• Within other non-food stores, watches and jewellery stores grew strongly over the month. Retailers in this industry reported increased demand for gold because of wider economic uncertainty. Clothing stores also rose in February 2025, but did not fully recover from their 2.7% fall in January 2025. Increased discounting and falling clothing prices as reported in our Consumer price inflation, UK: February 2025 bulletin may have contributed to the increase in sales volumes.
  
  
• These rises were partly offset by food stores sales volumes which fell by 2.0% on the month, following a 4.8% rise in January 2025. Supermarkets had the largest downward contribution, with retailers commenting on economic factors such as increasing prices.
  
  
• The amount spent online, known as “online spending values”, rose by 3.3% over the month to February 2025. Sales values also rose by 3.9% when comparing February 2025 with February 2024. However, they fell by 3.1% when comparing the three months to February 2025 with the three months to November 2024.
  
  
• Total spend – the sum of in-store and online sales – rose by 0.7% over the month. As a result, the proportion of sales made online rose from 25.8% in January 2025 to 26.5% in February 2025.

BRC Commentary

Responding to the latest ONS Retail Sales Index figures, which showed sales up 3.0% by value, and up 2.2% by volume, Kris Hamer, Director of Insight at the British Retail Consortium, said:
 
“Despite the damp, grey weather, retailers saw a solid boost to their sales in February. Computing and household electricals performed well as people continued to upgrade their tech. Meanwhile, footwear and clothing struggled this month due to the gloomy weather putting a dampener on demand. Nonetheless, retailers are hopeful the March sunshine will boost footfall and drive more consumer spending.
 
“While the rain clouds may have gone away, retailers face £7bn in new costs in 2025. Furthermore, the uncertainty around the Employment Rights Bill and the new business rates reform mean that retailers are hesitant to invest in new stores and jobs. Government must provide clarity in these policy areas as soon as possible to allow businesses to plan accordingly. This will ensure the retail industry is best positioned to support the Government’s growth agenda, which the Chancellor espoused in her Spring Statement.”

Source : ONS

Image : Alena Kravchenko / iStockphoto / 1134663982

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