UK retail sales rises 1.7% in January, beating expectations

Food store sales volumes jump 5.6% from month ago in January, marking largest rise since March 2020

By Tuba Ongun

ANKARA (AA) — Retail sales in Britain increased 1.7% month-over-month, surpassing the market forecast for a 0.4% rise, according to data released Friday by the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

The figure reflected the fastest growth since May 2024, driven by a sharp rise in food store sales and reversed December's downwardly revised 0.6% decline.

Food store sales volumes jumped by 5.6% from a month ago in January, marking the largest rise since March 2020 and pushing index levels to their highest point since June 2023.

Sales rose across supermarkets, specialist food stores like butchers and bakers, and alcohol and tobacco shops, fueled by more people eating at home in January.

However, sales dropped in non-food stores by 0.6%, clothing and footwear stores by 2.7%, and household goods stores by 1.7%.

Excluding fuel, sales climbed 2.1% month-on-month.

On a yearly basis, retail sales increased 1% in January 2025, easing from 2.8% in December 2024.

Kaynak: