ONS Retail Sales September 2019

Retail sales (value, non-seasonally adjusted, excluding fuel) rose by 3.6% year-on-year in September according to the latest figures from the ONS. Although this is below the 4.1% rise in September 2018, it is up on the 2.8% rise last month and a stark contrast to the worst September performance reported by the BRC-KPMG earlier in the month.

In volume terms, retail sales rose by 3.0% on last year (seasonally adjusted, excluding fuel). On a month-on-month basis, volumes rose by 0.2%.

A more accurate reflection of underlying trends, shown by the three-month on three-month growth, reported a 0.7% increase in sales volumes in the three months to September.

Average store prices including fuel increased by 0.3% on the year (excluding fuel, up by 0.5%), softening on the 0.6% rise (0.6%) in the previous month. Average prices in food stores were up 1.4% year-on-year in September, following a 1.7% rise last month. Non-Food store prices dipped 0.2% year-on-year in September, following a 0.3% drop in the previous month.

Online sales (non-seasonally adjusted, excluding automotive fuel) increased by 8.7% year-on-year, down on the 11.3% rise last year. However, these figures are subject to revisions. Online sales accounted for approximately 18.1% of all retail spending, unchanged from last month.

Retail sales (volume, seasonally adjusted) – 3-months on previous 3-months

Source: ONS

Back to Retail Economic News