Online boosts UK retail January sales

UK retail sales were up 1.4 per cent on a total basis in January, with online sales up 5.3 per cent, new figures from the British Retail Consortium have found.

The sales increase is roughly in line with the three month and 12-month averages of 1.5 per cent and 1.6 per cent respectively, while sales increased 0.6 per cent on a like-for-like basis.

Over the three months to January, in-store sales of non-food items dropped 2.9 per cent on a total basis and 3.6 per cent on a like-for-like basis. On a 12-month basis, the total decline reached 2.3 per cent. Food sales increased 2.9 per cent on a like-for-like basis and 4.1 per cent on a total basis.

Online sales of non-food products grew 5.3 per cent in January, against a growth of 8.0 per cent in January 2017. This is below the three month and 12-month averages of 6.6 per cent and 7.8 per cent respectively. Online penetration rate increased from 21.9 per cent in January 2017 to 22.2 per cent in January 2018.

Helen Dickinson, chief executive of the British Retail Consortium, said: “The persisting tough trading environment played out at the start of the year with a mixed set of trading updates and subsequent announcements. Sales as well as profits are seemingly harder to come by. Against this challenging back-drop, 2018 didn’t have a bad start during what is traditionally a lean month, with sales creeping up in-line with the year’s average.

“The figures paint the same old picture of divided fortunes for food and non-food sales. Rising food prices continued to inflate sales growth and absorb the lion’s share of shoppers’ squeezed budgets, while sales of non-food items struggled in January, dragging the 12- month average into negative territory for the first time in nine years.”

Paul Martin, head of retail at KPMG, added: “There was little growth in most categories besides food. Bigger ticket items such as furniture traditionally rely on strong post-Christmas trade, but this year seems to have struggled to woo consumers with the lure of a sale sign in the window. Online sales fared better, with bargain hunters most interested in fashion and tech.”

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