ONS Retail Sales December 2025

Retail sales (value, non-seasonally adjusted, exc. fuel) rose by 5.7% year-on-year (YoY) in December according to the latest ONS data, supported by Black Friday falling into the December trading period. It compares to a 1.2% rise a year earlier.
In volume terms (non-seasonally adjusted, exc. fuel), retail sales rose by 5.3% YoY in December. It compares to a 3.8% decline a year ago.
It should be noted that ONS figures are based on a sample of some 5,000 retailers and are subject to revisions.

Black Friday timing distorts Christmas trading

Source: ONS, Retail Economics analysis

Note: all retail sales figures provided below are non-seasonally adjusted, excluding Fuel, unless stated otherwise.

Food and non-food

Food sales values rose by a weak 0.7% YoY in December. This compares to a 2.8% rise a year earlier during higher levels of inflation. Adjusting for inflation, volumes declined by 0.9% against a 4.6% decline in the previous year.
Non-food sales rebounded in December, with values surging 8.7% compared to a 1.5% decline in the previous year. In volume terms, non-food sales increased 8.6% in December against a 4.9% decline a year earlier.
Clothing sales volumes declined on last year, down by 0.8% in December. This follows a 0.7% decline a year earlier. By comparison, Footwear and Leather Goods volumes outperformed and rose by 8.9%.
Household Goods volumes rebounded on last year, with sales up by 7.1% in December, but remain below pre-pandemic levels. Concerningly, big ticket Furniture and Lighting volumes remained in decline at -3.3%.
Electrical Household Appliances volumes jumped by 23.5% in December, supported by the later timing of Black Friday.
Pharmaceuticals, Cosmetics and Toiletries volumes surged 15.3% in December, supported by Black Friday promotions, Christmas gifting and a ‘quademic’ of winter bugs and viruses in the month.

Online

Online sales values rocketed by 10.2% YoY in December, against a 5.0% rise a year earlier, supported by the timing of Black Friday.
Household Goods remained in decline in December (-3.7%), while Clothing & Footwear sales rose by 6.2%.
Non-store retailing (a proxy for pureplay retailers) surged by 9.0% YoY in the month, against a 5.0% rise a year earlier.
The proportion of retail sales made online was 29.3% in December, down from 28.1% a year earlier.
Overall, average weekly online sales were £3.3bn in December, up from £3.0bn in the previous year.

Retail sales price deflator

The retail sales deflator (a measure of inflation specific to retail) was flat when including fuel, but edged up 0.4% when excluding fuel.
The implied price deflator among food edged up to 1.7% in December, against a 7.7% rise in the previous year. Among non-food stores, the price deflator was broadly flat at 0.1%.