Retail sales, Great Britain: January 2019 ONS Bulletin
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In the three months to January 2019, the quantity bought increased by 0.7% when compared with the previous three months.
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The monthly growth rate in the quantity bought increased by 1.0% in January 2019, following a decline of 0.7% in December 2018.
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Year-on-year growth in the quantity bought in January 2019 was 4.2%, the highest since December 2016; while year-on-year average store prices slowed to 0.4%, the lowest price increase since November 2016.
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The quantity bought in textile, clothing and footwear stores showed strong year-on-year growth at 5.5% as stores took advantage of the January sales, with a year-on-year price fall of 0.9%.
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As food store prices experienced a general slowdown throughout 2018, the quantity bought in January 2019 returned to the strong growth experienced in the summer months at 3.2%.
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Online sales as a total of all retailing decreased to 18.8% in January 2019, from the 19.8% reported in December 2018.
Commenting on today’s retail sales figures, head of retail sales Rhian Murphy said:
“Retail sales returned to growth, with increases across most sectors.
“Clothing stores saw strong sales, luring consumers with price reductions with food sales also growing after a slight dip over Christmas.”
The full report can be found: https://www.ons.gov.uk/businessindustryandtrade/retailindustry/bulletins/retailsales/january2019
