Online sales jump by a fifth but fashion still suffers, according to ONS

Average weekly spending online in September was £931m – up 22% on the same period last year, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) reported.

Spend online now accounts for 15% of retail sales, the figures showed, rising from 12.6% last year.

Homeware and furniture retailers posted the biggest rise as ecommerce sales in the category jumped 44%, the ONS said.

However, fashion retailers continued to suffer as online sales slid 4.5% last month, compared to the same period last year.

Total retail sales year on year – including stores and online – across all sectors rose 4.1% in volume and 2.9 in value terms last month.

But fashion sales fell 5.4% year on year by volume and 5% by value as unseasonal hot weather hampered sales last month.

The tough conditions for clothing retailers were also laid bare this week when Retail Week revealed Gap is closing all its Banana Republic UK stores.

Despite Brexit woes and wavering consumer confidence, the ONS said “the underlying pattern in the retail sector continues to show relatively strong growth”. Quarterly sales by volume rose by 1.8%.

BRC-KPMG figures last week showed retail sales on a like-for-like basis rose 0.4% in the five weeks to October 1, driven by food.