Retail sales in the United Kingdom plunged 18.1 percent month-over-month in April of 2020, following an upwardly revised 5.2 percent drop in March and worse than market expectations of a 16 percent fall. It is the biggest slump in retail sales on record, due to the coronavirus pandemic and restrictive measures imposed such as stores and business closures. Biggest declines were seen for sales of fuel (-52 percent), clothing and footwear (-50.2 percent) and household goods (-45.4 percent). On the other hand, sales for non-store retailing jumped at a record 18 percent and sales for alcohol stores went up 2.3 percent. Excluding auto fuel, sales dropped 15.2 percent.

Retail Sales MoM in the United Kingdom averaged 0.14 percent from 1996 until 2020, reaching an all time high of 3 percent in February of 2010 and a record low of -18.10 percent in April of 2020. This page provides the latest reported value for - United Kingdom Retail Sales MoM - plus previous releases, historical high and low, short-term forecast and long-term prediction, economic calendar, survey consensus and news. United Kingdom Retail Sales MoM - data, historical chart, forecasts and calendar of releases - was last updated on May of 2020. source: Office for National Statistics

Retail Sales MoM in the United Kingdom is expected to be -2.40 percent by the end of this quarter, according to Trading Economics global macro models and analysts expectations. Looking forward, we estimate Retail Sales MoM in the United Kingdom to stand at 1.00 in 12 months time. In the long-term, the United Kingdom Retail Sales MoM is projected to trend around 0.60 percent in 2021 and 0.50 percent in 2022, according to our econometric models.

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United Kingdom Retail Sales MoM

Actual Previous Highest Lowest Dates Unit Frequency
-18.10 -5.20 3.00 -18.10 1996 - 2020 percent Monthly
2016=100, SA


Calendar GMT Actual Previous Consensus TEForecast
2020-02-20 09:30 AM Jan 0.9% -0.5% 0.7% 0.4%
2020-03-26 07:00 AM Feb -0.3% 1.1% 0.2% 0.4%
2020-04-24 06:00 AM Mar -5.1% -0.3% -4% -4.2%
2020-05-22 06:00 AM Apr -18.1% -5.2% -16% -16.9%
2020-06-18 06:00 AM May -18.1%
2020-07-23 06:00 AM Jun -2.4%
2020-08-20 06:00 AM Jul
2020-09-17 06:00 AM Aug
Go to our Calendar for more events. Or learn more about the Calendar API for direct access.


News Stream
UK Retail Sales Fall at Record Pace
Retail sales in the United Kingdom plunged 18.1 percent month-over-month in April of 2020, following an upwardly revised 5.2 percent drop in March and worse than market expectations of a 16 percent fall. It is the biggest slump in retail sales on record, due to the coronavirus pandemic and restrictive measures imposed such as stores and business closures. Biggest declines were seen for sales of fuel (-52 percent), clothing and footwear (-50.2 percent) and household goods (-45.4 percent). On the other hand, sales for non-store retailing jumped at a record 18 percent and sales for alcohol stores went up 2.3 percent. Excluding auto fuel, sales dropped 15.2 percent.
2020-05-22
UK Retail Sales Fall at Record Pace
Retail sales in the UK plunged 5.1 percent month-over-month in March of 2020, the biggest drop on record as many stores closed staring March 23th following government guidance during the coronavirus pandemic. Figures came worse than market expectations of a 4 percent decline. Clothing store sales saw a sharp fall in sales (-34.8 percent). In contrast, food stores and non-store retailing were the only sectors to show growth, with food stores seeing the strongest growth on record, at 10.4 percent. Year-on-year, retail sales went down 5.8 percent, also the biggest decline ever. In the three months to March 2020, retail sales fell by 1.6 percent when compared with the previous three months, with strong declines in non-food stores and fuel.
2020-04-24
UK Retail Trade Falls Unexpectedly
Retail sales in the United Kingdom fell by 0.3 percent from a month earlier in February 2020, following an upwardly revised 1.1 percent growth in January and missing market expectations of a 0.2 percent advance, with a range of retailers providing feedback on the adverse effect of the extreme rainfall on sales. Non-store retailing was the largest negative contributor to the decline (-2.8 percent), followed by food trade (-0.4 percent) and sales at department stores (-1.0 percent). Meanwhile, receipts at fuel stores rose 1.4 percent as well as sales at household goods stores (0.8 percent) and those at textile, clothing and footwear stores (0.2 percent). Year-on-year, retail trade was flat, the weakest annual performance since March 2013.
2020-03-26
UK Retail Sales Rise the Most in 10 Months
Retail sales in the United Kingdom rose 0.9 month-over-month in January 2020, rebounding from a downwardly revised 0.5 percent fall in the previous month and beating market forecasts of a 0.7 percent gain. It was the largest increase in retail trade since March last year, boosted by both food stores (1.7 percent) and non-food (1.3 percent). Among non-food stores, gains were seen in textile, clothing and footwear (3.9 percent, the most since May 2018); department stores (1.6 percent); and others (0.4 percent). Meanwhile, sales at petrol stations dropped by 5.7 percent, the largest decline since April 2012 linked to higher cost of fuel. Year-on-year, retail sales went up 0.8 percent, easing from a 0.9 percent rise in the prior month.
2020-02-20

United Kingdom Retail Sales MoM
In the United Kingdom, the Retail sales report provides an aggregated measure of sales of retail goods and services over a specific time period. In the United Kingdom, Retail sales are seasonal, volatile and relatively important to the overall economy.