Sales volumes increased by 1.9% in the three months to March 2024. Credit: William Barton via Shutterstock.com.

UK retail sales volumes remained unchanged in March 2024, following a marginal increase in February, as reported by the Office for National Statistics (ONS).  

Compared with a year ago, sales volumes were 0.8% higher, yet sales were still 1.2% below the pre-pandemic levels of February 2020. 

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The ONS data showed that retail sales volumes experienced a 1.9% increase in the three months leading up to March 2024, compared to the preceding quarter, recovering from low sales during the Christmas period.  

During the month, non-food stores, including department, clothing, household, and other non-food retailers, saw a 0.5% rise in sales volumes, attributed to higher footfall. 

The ONS noted an alignment between the increase in non-food store sales and the uptick in high street footfall, as detailed in their bulletin on economic activity and social change.  

Notable gains were observed in secondhand goods stores, hardware and furniture stores, and clothing stores. 

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However, these positive trends were counterbalanced by declines in department stores, food stores, and non-store retailing, where the rising prices impacted consumer spending patterns.  

Sales in automotive fuel and non-food stores enjoyed sales volume increases of 3.2% and 0.5%, respectively over the month while food stores reported a 0.7% decrease and non-store retailers posted a 1.5% drop. 

Online spending values edged up by 0.1% over the month and by 1.7% from the same period last year, slightly boosting the proportion of online sales to 25.9% in March. 

Earlier this month, data from BRC British Retail Consortium-Sensormatic IQ revealed that the UK retail sector experienced a 1.3% decline in footfall in March 2024 compared to the same month in 2023.