(ONS) Sales at UK retail stores were down by 0.9% in August 2021, after another fall of 2.8% in July. The sales were still 0.3% higher in the three months to August compared to the previous quarter.
Fig: Volume of Retail Sales in the UK
Food store sales declined by 1.2% in August, reflecting shifts to dining in restaurants and bars after the easing of restrictions.
Non-food stores posted a decline of 1.0% in sales, with the largest declines by departmental stores at 3.7%.
Sales of automotive fuels surged by 1.5% on resumption of travel, but remained 1.2% below the pre-pandemic levels.
Retails sales as a proportion of total surged higher to reach 27.7% in August from 27.1% in the previous month, to maintain levels above 19.7% in February 2020.
UK’s retail sales are now 4.6% above the pre-pandemic period in February 2020.
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