Year on year retail sales rose by value but plunged by volume last month as the cost of living climbed, official figures reveal.
Retail sales excluding motor fuel advanced 3.7% by value, Office for National Statistics (ONS) data showed. However, volume was down 5% as all retail’s main sectors took a hit over the month.
Month on month, retailers suffered a 1.4% decline by value and volume slid 1.6%.
Food stores, non-food shops and non-store retail – primarily online – were all down over the month for the first time since July 2021, when pandemic restrictions on hospitality were lifted.
Food store volumes slipped 0.8% in August, leaving them 1.4% below pre-Covid levels in February 2020.
Non-food stores’ volumes fell 1.9% over the month as every subsector declined. Department stores slipped 2.7%, household goods stores were down 1.1% and clothing stores down 0.6%.
Non-store retail volumes fell 2.6% in August but were still 24.4% above February 2020.
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