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UK Retail Stats and Facts

World class providers of data, statistics and insight for the UK retail industry

Top 10 stats and facts about the UK retail sector

Our top 10 facts and stats about the UK retail sector. As a subscriber you have access to an entire suite of retail insights and data through your subscriber dashboard and our Help Desk. Take our a free, 30 day trial now >

1 Total value of UK retail sales in 2024 £468 bn
2 People employed in UK retail in 2024 2.8M
3 Proportion of consumer spending that goes through retail 1/3
4 Proportion of retail sales made online in 2024 27.1%
5 Growth in UK retail sales in 2024 1.5%
6 Total number of VAT-registered retailers in the UK in 2024 214,615
7 Total number of retail outlets in the UK in 2024 302,600
8 Amount retail generates of total GDP (GVA) 6%
9 Online retail sales growth in 2024 3.2%
10 Average weekly earnings in the retail sector in 2024 averaged 8.2%
Source: Retail Economics, ONS

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About Retail Economics

We publish monthly retail economic and sector reports

July 2025

What you get out of our economic reports
  • Instant retail sales overview
  • Independent analysis
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  • Future retail trends
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UK Retail statistics Retail Economics

July 2025

What you get out of our sector reports
  • Analysis of seven different retail sectors
  • Independent analysis
  • Actionable insight
  • Future retail trends
  • More time for high priority tasks
VIEW LATEST SECTOR REPORTS

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