(ONS) The UK recorded a 1.4% fall in retail sales volumes in March, accelerating from a decline of 0.5% the previous month.
The largest contributor to the March decline in retail sales was the non-store retailers, which saw a 7.9% fall in sales volumes after shedding another 6.9% in February.
Food store sales saw a 1.1% drop in volumes in March, with the declines occurring since November 2021 due to the impacts of the higher cost of living and economic reopening. Non-food store sales volumes improved by 1.3%.
Sales of automotive fuels fell by 3.8% in March, as record prices discouraged over-spending on non-essential travel.
The online sales continued declines, falling by 26.0% in March to their lowest since February 2020.
Despite the March declines, the retail sales remained 2.2% above the pre-pandemic level.
FTSE 100 is down -0.61%, GBPUSD is down -1.19%
