Retail sales rose year on year in February but online continued on a downward trend as pandemic conditions eased, official data has shown.
Retail sales excluding automotive fuel climbed 11.1% by value year on year and were up 9.6% versus February 2020 the ONS reported. By volume, sales rose 4.6% year on year and were ahead 4% on a two-year basis.
Month on month, sales inched up 0.3% by value and were down 0.7% by volume.
Non-store sales volumes fell 4.8% over the month. That followed strong growth in December and January but the ONS said the proportion of retail sales online – 27.8% in February − was the lowest since March 2020, “continuing a broad downward trend since its peak in February 2021”.
Food stores’ sales volumes slipped 0.2% in February “with large falls in alcohol and tobacco stores, which may be linked to higher spending in pubs and restaurants as confidence increased in going out”. Food store sales volumes were 0.1% below February 2020 levels.
Non-food stores’ sales volumes rose 0.6% in February driven by growth in clothing (13.2%) and department stores (1.3%). The ONS said “wider socialising and the return to the office following the lifting of Plan B restrictions at the end of January” were potential factors.
However, it also observed: “These increases were partly offset by falls in other non-food stores (-7%) and household goods stores (-2.5%). The impact of stormy weather on shopper footfall was thought to be partly to blame.”
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