Retail sales20 Nov 2020 08:08
October 2020, retail sales volumes increased by 1.2% from September, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said.
It was the sixth consecutive month of growth in the industry.
Growth in the volume of sales for non-store retailing clocked in at 6.4%, while growth rates of 3.2% for household goods stores and 3.1% for the hard-pressed department store sector all contributed to the overall monthly increase in retail sales, the ONS said.
The year-on-year growth rate in the volume of retail sales saw a strong increase of 5.8%, with feedback from a range of businesses suggesting that consumers had started Christmas shopping earlier this year, further helped by early discounting from a range of stores.
Total retail sales values (excluding fuel) in October were 7.9% higher than they were in February – the month before the lockdown restrictions were imposed in the UK.