January Retail Sales Growth Sees Slowest In 6 Months

According to the latest figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS), UK retail sales throughout January edged up 0.1%, the slowest rate of growth in last 6 months.

Sales by quantity grew 1.6% year-on-year, marking a significant slowdown on the 2.4% growth seen in January 2017.

A boost in sports equipment along with games and toys in New Year’s resolutions, which saw sales grow by 10.9%.

It helped to partially offset the 0.9% drop in food sales, marking the 6th consecutive month of decline in a row as food prices continues to rise.

“Retail sales growth was broadly flat at the beginning of the New Year with the longer-term picture showing a continued slowdown in the sector,” ONS senior statistician Rhian Murphey said.

This could partly be attributed to a background of generally rising prices.

Sporting equipment growth games and toys being bought was offset by falling food sales when compared with the same month last year.

In January 2018, an unusual growth in sporting equipment sales following an increased uptake for gym wears.

“January discounts helped sustain retailers’ sales after a disappointing end to last year”, Close Brothers Retail Finance managing director Alex Marsh added.

“Our data showed that the average spend in January was higher than in December, particularly in the first week of the month which saw purchases up 12% compared to the average day last year”.

“Millennials largely drove this trend, purchasing big ticket items such as furniture or electrical gadgets.”