UK retail sales rally in January, beat expectations

(Sharecast News) - UK retail sales rebounded sharply in January, official data showed on Friday, reversing December's slide. According to the Office for National Statistics, retail sales volumes rose by 3.4% last month, following a downwardly-revised fall of 3.3% in December.

It was the largest monthly rise since April 2021, and comfortably above analyst forecasts for a 1.5% increase.

Both food and non-food sales strengthened. Food store sales volumes jumped 3.4% over the month, or by 0.6% over the year, recovering from December's record 3.1% slide.

Non-food store sales rose 3%, in contrast to December's 3.9% fall.

In the three months to January, total sales volumes eased 0.2% on the previous quarter, the smallest decline since August.

Heather Bovill, deputy director for surveys and economic indicators at the ONS, said: "Overall sales have now recovered to pre-December levels, although if we look at the broader picture, they are still below where they were pre-pandemic.

"Sales increased across nearly all retail sectors, and it was a particularly strong month for supermarkets. 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."

December is traditionally one of the busiest, and most important, months of the year for the retail sector.

However, hard-pressed consumers carried out much of their Christmas shopping in November last year, to take advantage of Black Friday discounts.