(ONS) The volume of retail sales in the UK declined by 0.3% in February 2022, a downturn from an increase of 1.9% in January.
Despite the February decline, the retail sales remained 3.7% higher than the levels before the pandemic.
Non-store sales volumes were down by 4.8% in the month, compared to a gain of 4.0% and 2.7% in January and December, respectively.
Food store sales fell by 0.2% to maintain levels that are 0.1% below the pre-pandemic period. Non-food store sales volumes were up by 0.6%, with clothing and departmental stores rising by 13.2% and 1.3%, respectively.
The automotive fuel sales volumes increased by 3.6% in February, rising by 0.9% above the pre-pandemic level.
Retail sales made online were down by 27.8% in February, to touch the lowest since March 2020. The decline has been happening since the peak in February 2021.
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