London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Sunday, Apr 20, 2025

British retail sales rebound despite cash-strapped consumers

British retail sales rebound despite cash-strapped consumers

Cash-strapped British households cut back on eating out and takeaways last month and instead bought food at supermarkets and shopped at discount stores, giving an unexpected boost to retail sales, official data showed on Friday.
British retail sales unexpectedly rebounded by 1.2% in February from the month before, returning sales volumes to their pre-pandemic level, the Office for National Statistics said.

Economists polled by Reuters had forecast that retail sales volumes in February would be 0.2% higher than in January. January sales growth was also revised up to 0.9% from 0.5%.

"In the latest month, discount department stores performed strongly with food shops also doing well as consumers, confronted with cost-of-living pressures, cut back on eating out or purchasing takeaways," ONS statistician Darren Morgan said.

British consumers have been squeezed by inflation which hit a 41-year high of 11.1% in October and has remained in double digits since.

On Thursday the Bank of England said it expected inflation to fall faster than expected over the coming months, due to lower energy prices and the government's extension of subsidies in last week's budget.

However, Friday's data showed that retail sales volumes in February were still 3.5% lower than a year earlier.

Sales volumes at food shops have suffered less of a hit and were down by 2.3% on a year earlier - despite official figures on Wednesday showing an 18% rise in food and drink prices in the year to February, the biggest since 1977.

"At face value, these data further add to the view that the recent resilience in activity is still holding up. But when households' finances are under pressure, it is possible that any improvement in retail sales will be just be met by a softening in non-retail spending such as restaurants," said Ashley Webb, an economist at Capital Economics.

The economy looks on track to avoid a recession which was widely forecast at the turn of the year, and a consumer confidence survey on Friday showed sentiment at a one-year high, though still very weak by historic standards.

But even taking these factors into account, government budget forecasters said last week that Britain was still heading for the biggest two-year reduction in living standards since records began in the 1950s.

The ONS retail sales volumes data are adjusted for inflation and the time of year. The value of retail sales - which reflects the amount consumers spend, rather than the volume of goods bought - was 5.5% higher than a year earlier.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
This is Vienna, Austria in 2025.
Boeing Jet Returns to US from China Amid Tariff War
Canadian Federal Election: Candidates' Positions on US-Canada Relations and Donald Trump
Resentencing Hearing for Menendez Brothers Who Killed Their Parents Delayed Amid Legal Disputes
Australian Woman Gives Birth To Stranger's Baby In IVF Mix-up
US Sets Deadline for Russia-Ukraine Peace Deal Brokerage
Italy Introduces 'Sex Rooms' in Prisons for Inmates
California Launches Legal Challenge Against Trump Administration's Tariffs
"Groundless": China Dismisses Zelensky's Claims It's Supplying Arms To Russia
UK Psytrance Festival Cancelled Amid Local Protests Over Noise Concerns
French Far-Right Writer Renaud Camus Denied Entry to UK
UK Police Force Updates Search Policy for Trans Individuals in Custody
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni Meets with Donald Trump to Discuss EU-US Trade Tensions
Canada's Federal Party Leaders Engage in Final Debate Ahead of General Election
Ukraine and US Sign Outline of Minerals Deal
Fast Food Chain Refuses to Apologize for Online Comment About Katy Perry's Space Voyage
New York Attorney General Letitia James Faces Criminal Referral for Alleged Mortgage Fraud
Mark Cuban admits support for Trump executive order: ‘Gotta be honest’
US Senator Meets with Deported Immigrant in El Salvador Amid Custody Dispute
U.S. State Department Raises El Salvador’s Safety Ranking, Making It Safer Than France and Other European Nations
UK Government Assumes Control of British Steel's Scunthorpe Plant Amid Shutdown Threat
UK MP Wera Hobhouse Denied Entry to Hong Kong During Family Visit
Bangladesh Issues Arrest Warrant for UK MP Tulip Siddiq
China Urges United States to Cancel Tariffs Amid Escalating Trade Tensions
The Empire’s USD Pyramid Scheme Is Working Brilliantly—So Why ‘Fix’ It?
China Raises Tariffs on U.S. Goods to 125% Amid Escalating Trade Dispute
Elon Musk Reports $150 Billion in Projected Government Savings Amid Fraud Investigations
U.S. and Panama Finalize Defense Agreements Amid Canal Access and Chinese Influence Concerns
China Stands Firm Amidst Trade Disputes with the US: A Factual Analysis
U.S. Tariff Escalation Sparks Global Trade Tensions
Helicopter crashes in NYC with four people on board.
Australia Dismisses China's Suggestion to Collaborate Against US Tariffs
EU Postpones Response to US Tariffs
The Trump Administration is contemplating removing Chinese companies from U.S. stock exchanges.
Violent Incidents and Public Safety Concerns Escalate in London and County Durham
UK MP Arrested on Suspicion of Rape and Child Sex Offences
UK Gears Up to Respond to US Tariffs with Industrial Strategies and Trade Initiatives
‘Rocky’ star Dolph Lundgren and his wife Emma Krokdal bask in the Miami sunshine following the actor’s lengthy health struggles.
Spain Encounters Countrywide Protests as Housing Crisis Intensifies
Alisha Lehmann's Modeling Campaign and Public Controversy Stir Debate Ahead of UEFA Women's Euro
U.S. Firms with Major International Revenue Exposure in Light of New Tariffs
President Trump Calls on the Federal Reserve to Reduce Interest Rates in Light of New Tariffs
President Trump Prolongs TikTok Sale Deadline by 75 Days
Global Markets Dive Amid Rising U.S.-China Trade Conflicts
British comedian Russell Brand faces charges of rape and several sexual assaults.
Kanye West Reveals in a New Song That His Wife Bianca Censori Has Departed from Him
Actor Jean-Claude Van Damme Accused of Having Sex with Human Trafficking Victims
Tom Cruise Pays Tribute to Val Kilmer at CinemaCon
Europe Pursues Digital Autonomy Amidst Transatlantic Strains
OpenAI Lands Unprecedented $40 Billion Funding.
×