16 February 2024 , 10:00
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UK shops have made a strong comeback from their worst December performance ever, recording their biggest single monthly gain in nearly three years.
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) revealed that retail sales volumes, including online retailers, rose 3.4% in January, bouncing back from a 3.3% drop in December. This is the sharpest rise since April 2021, when non-essential shops were allowed to reopen after the third national Covid-19 lockdown.
Heather Bovill, deputy director for surveys and economic indicators at the ONS, said: "After a very weak December, retail sales rebounded in January with the largest monthly rise since April 2021."
She added that overall sales have now recovered to pre-December levels, but they are still below pre-pandemic levels. The January figures were also much higher than the 1.5% increase economists had predicted, according to an average supplied by Pantheon Macroeconomics.
A significant part of this change was due to food shops, which saw sales rise 3.4% during the month. The only type of retailer that performed worse last month were those selling clothes. Ms Bovill noted: "Sales increased across nearly all retail sectors, and it was a particularly strong month for supermarkets. Household goods stores, sports shops and department store retailers were amongst those reporting robust trading due to January sales promotions."
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"A fall in prices at the pump also meant a solid month for fuel sales. Clothing shops were the only area not to see growth this month."