ONS Retail Sales July 2024

Retail sales (value, non-seasonally adjusted, exc. fuel) rose by 2.5% year-on-year (YoY) in July according to the latest ONS data. It compares to a 4.4% rise a year earlier.
In volume terms (non-seasonally adjusted, exc. fuel), retail sales rose by 1.6% YoY in July following a 1.0% decline in the previous month. It compares to a weak 3.4% 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.

Values and volumes edge up in July

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 2.0% YoY in July, marking the strongest rate since March despite inflation being at softer levels. This compares to a 5.3% rise a year earlier during periods of high inflation. But adjusting for inflation, volumes were broadly flat (-0.1%) in July against a 5.7% decline in the previous year.
Non-food sales values rose by 1.3% in the month compared to a 2.9% rise in the previous year. In volume terms, non-food sales edged up by 1.5% in July against a 2.7% fall a year earlier.
The performance across Non-food categories was mixed. Pharmaceuticals, cosmetics and toiletries volumes jumped 10.5% in July in its strongest performance since March 2022.
Footwear and Leather Goods volumes inched up 0.8% against a strong 13.3% surge a year earlier. However, Clothing sales volumes were down 5.5% in July.
Sales volumes of Household Goods slipped further into decline (-6.3%) in July, having been in decline since February 2022. Big ticket Furniture and Lighting volumes decreased by 16.7%, despite declining prices.

Online

Online sales values rose by 3.8% YoY in July, against a 10.5% rise a year earlier.
Household Goods continued to face the deepest declines, plunging 17.5% against a strong comparison last year (13.7%), while Clothing & Footwear also dropped 6.3%.
Non-store retailing (a proxy for pureplay retailers) rose by 5.6% YoY in the month, against an 11.6% increase a year earlier.
The proportion of retail sales made online was 26.7% in July, up on 26.3% a year earlier.
Overall, average weekly online sales were £2.42bn in July, up from £2.33bn in the previous year.

Retail sales price deflator

The retail sales deflator (a measure of inflation specific to retail) rose by 0.8% YoY in July when excluding fuel – on par with June’s level – and rose by 0.9% when including fuel.
The implied price deflator among food stores remained at 2.1% in July, against a 13.1% rise in the previous year. Among non-food stores, the price deflator remained broadly flat at -0.2%.