UK retail sales volumes in July 2025 saw a 0.6% uptick, building on the previous month's 0.3% growth, according to the latest data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
The surge was particularly evident in non-store retail and clothing sectors, with retailers linking the boost to the introduction of new products, favourable weather conditions and a spike in sales associated with the UEFA Women’s EURO 2025 football tournament.
However, retail sales volumes in the UK are estimated to have decreased by 0.6% in the three months leading up to July, compared with the three months to April 2025.
The decrease was primarily due to reduced sales in food stores, as well as in outlets selling sports equipment, games, toys and household goods.
Non-store retailers, predominantly online shops, experienced a 2.5% increase in sales volumes.
Sales volumes in non-food stores — department stores, clothing retailers, household goods stores and other miscellaneous non-food merchants — saw a 0.6% uptick within the same period.
This growth was largely driven by a 2.5% monthly surge in clothing store sales, which also marked a notable 5.5% year-on-year increase — the most significant annual growth since January 2023.
Aggregate spending across both physical and digital retail platforms advanced by 1% for the month.
The ONS has also issued revisions to the data of preceding months, rectifying an error in the seasonal adjustment process. Additional time was necessary to resolve and validate the accuracy of these adjustments.
ONS economic social and environmental statistics incoming director general James Benford stated: “Our review revealed that we had not seasonally adjusted data correctly because we did not properly account for the adjustment in retail reporting calendars. We have now corrected for this mistake.
“With the corrections, we have revised down the quarterly growth rate of retail sales from 1.3% to 0.7% in the first quarter (Q1) and up from 0.2% to 0.3% in Q2. While the overall pattern of quarterly growth is similar to our previous estimates, the month-on-month changes are now much less volatile.”
