In December 2024, retail sales in Great Britain fell slightly according to preliminary estimates. Quantity purchased is expected to have fallen by 0.3% after a slight increase in November 2024 of 0.1%, revised down from 0.2%. Supermarket sales experienced a partial decline, partly offset by a rise in sales in non-food stores, such as clothing stores, which recovered from previous declines.
Looking at the fourth quarter of 2024, retail sales fell by 0.8% compared to the third quarter of the same year, but recorded a 1.9% increase compared to the same period the previous year. The accompanying chart shows quantity purchased over time, both on a monthly and quarterly basis.
In December 2024, seasonally adjusted sales volumes fell by 0.3%, after a slight increase in November of the same year. However, sales were up 3.6% compared to the same month in 2023. Despite this increase, volumes were down 2.5% compared to their pre-COVID-19 levels in February 2020.
More broadly, retail sales fell 0.8% in the three months to December 2024, compared to the third quarter of the same year. However, there was a 1.9% increase when compared to the same time last year.
The data is available in the Retail Sales Index datasets, which are updated regularly. For 2024, Black Friday on 29 November coincided with the December reporting period, which covered five weeks between 24 November and 28 December.
Looking at the non-seasonally adjusted data, which does not take into account the impact of Black Friday or typical Christmas spending, sales volumes rose by 10.0% in the month to December 2024.
Some retailers noted that Black Friday sales started earlier than the official day, which affected the final figures
The decline was partly due to higher sales in non-food stores and online sales
In December 2024, the retail sector saw some notable changes. In-store food sales fell by 1.9% compared to the previous month, the biggest decline since April 2013. Supermarkets were particularly weak, with specialist stores such as butchers, bakeries and alcohol and tobacco stores also recording lower volumes. Retailers reported lower-than-expected sales in this category.
However, this decline was partly offset by higher sales in non-food stores, such as clothing and homeware stores. Sales in these stores rose by 1.1% over the month. Clothing sales contributed significantly to this improvement, recording a significant increase of 4.4% in December, after declining in the previous two months. Department stores and home goods stores also saw an improvement in their sales, attributed to Christmas sales.
As for online sales, most major sectors saw an increase in spending. Online retail sales rose by 1.5% in December 2024, the first monthly increase since September of the same year. Online sales also increased by 1.7% compared to December 2023. However, when comparing Q4 2024 to Q3, there was a decrease of 3.3% in online sales.
As for total spending, retail sales in stores and online increased by 0.1% during the month. Consequently, the share of online sales increased from 26.5% in November 2024 to 27.0% in December, reflecting an increase in consumers’ reliance on online shopping. Overall, it can be noted that the retail sector has seen fluctuations between declines in some categories such as food, and increases in others such as clothing and online sales. The Christmas season also contributed to boosting some sales, while growth in e-commerce continued.
In 2024, retail sales increased by 0.7% compared to the previous year, after significant declines in previous years. In 2023, sales fell by 2.9%, while in 2022 the decline was 4.1%.
Data released (retail sales) on January 17, 2025
In 2024, sales increased in all major sectors except food sales. Although food sales fell, this decline was less severe than the declines in 2022 and 2023. Despite the decline in food sales, other sectors showed significant improvements, including non-food and motor fuel.
As for non-food stores, sales volumes have improved compared to 2023, although they have not yet reached 2022 levels. Online retail sales have shown continued improvement, particularly in motor fuel sales, which have outpaced the declines in 2023. As a result of these improvements, the sector as a whole has seen some recovery, although the level of recovery is still below expectations for some sectors.
As for the data released on 17 January 2025, the Retail Sales Index dataset includes information on retail sales in Great Britain, both in terms of value and volume. This data has been seasonally and non-seasonally adjusted to provide an accurate picture of the market situation. retail sales data in sterling also includes estimates of total sales and average weekly spending by sector.
A set of online sales data is also available, showing changes in sales by store type, month and year. This data was released on the same date and provides valuable insights into online shopping trends in Great Britain.
The response rate for the Retail Sales Index for December 2024 was 59.0% based on the returned forms. This represents 91.9% of the sales volume coverage of the sample population. For more details on data collection methodology, comprehensive information is provided via the Retail Sales Quality dataset and its methodology.
In summary, while the retail sector has seen some improvement in 2024, challenges remain, particularly in the food sector. However, some other sectors are showing strong signs of recovery, which gives optimism for the future of retail sales in Great Britain.
