Retail sales in Britain fell by 3.2% m/m in December – the most in three years

In December, retail sales in the UK decreased by 3.2% compared to the previous month, as reported by the National Statistical Office of the country.  

This figure has become a record low since January 2021, when retail stores faced the negative consequences of the coronavirus pandemic.

Analysts had expected a much more moderate decline of 0.5%. However, the revised data also showed that retail sales increased by 1.4% in November, instead of the officially announced growth of 1.3%.

In December, sales in grocery stores decreased by 3.1%, while sales of goods in non-grocery stores fell by 3.9%. Sales of motor fuel also decreased by 1.9%.

Compared to the same period of the previous year, retail sales in the UK decreased by 2.4%, which exceeded expectations of a decrease of 1.1%. In November, according to the revised data, retail sales increased by 0.2%, and not by 0.1%, as previously reported. 

Excluding sales of motor fuel, retail sales decreased by 3.3% in December compared to the previous month and by 2.1% compared to December last year. 

In general, in 2023, the volume of retail sales in the country decreased by 2.8%, reaching the lowest level since 2018.