UK retail sales jump by highest level since spring 2021

investmentweek.co.uk:

According to the report, consumers “spent more for less” in January, as the 3.9% monthly rise in sales values — the amount spent — exceeded the 3.4% rise in sales volumes.

This followed a record fall the previous month of 3.3%, data from the Office of National Statistics found.

According to the report, consumers «spent more for less» in January, as the 3.9% monthly rise in sales values — the amount spent — exceeded the 3.4% rise in sales volumes.

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The rise in January 2024 returned sales volumes to November 2023 levels following December's record fall, which was the largest monthly fall since January 2021, when Covid-19 restrictions affected sales.

ING's developed markets economist James Smith, said that December's data had «raised some eyebrows at the time» and had been put down to bad weather and consumers spending less amid the ongoing cost-of-living crisis.

But January's «the rapid rebound suggests the dip was more likely down to the ever-shifting seasonal trends in spending, which have continued to change pace since Covid-19».

Sales volumes across all subsectors, bar clothing stores, increased over the month.

Automotive fuel, other non-food stores and department stores saw the biggest volume of sales for the period.

The report comes the day after ONS data concluded the UK had fallen into a technical recession at the end of 2023, and the same week that inflation remained unchanged at 4% for January.

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Neil Birrell, chief investment officer at Premier Miton Investors, said: «UK retail sales for January provided the third data point in three days on the UK economy and