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UK Retail Sales Report summary

March 2021

Period covered: Period covered: 31 January – 27 February 2021

Note: Reporting periods are either one or two months behind the current month as standard reporting practice. Certain figures are not shown. Take out a free 30 day subscription trial to access this data or subscribe.

Retail sales fell by 0.00% in February, year-on-year, according to the Retail Economics Retail Sales Index (value, non-seasonally adjusted, exc. Fuel).

Overall Food sales rose by 0.00% on the previous year which was the third strongest level of growth over the past 12 months.

Online grocery sales continued to rise at an exponential rate, up 141%, year-on-year, according to the ONS. Average weekly online sales hit £425 million, accounting for 0.00% of total food sales.

The growth and composition of online sales have altered dramatically over the last 12 months.

Online accounted for 0.00% of total grocery spending in February, driven by a 141% rise in sales on the previous year. Almost £1 in every £5 (18%) spent online is on food compared with under £1 in ever £7 in February 2020.

For non-food, the proportion of online sales has risen markedly on pre-pandemic levels, up from 15.6% in the 12 months to March 2020 to an average of 0.00% during periods of lockdown.

Even when shops reopened (mid-pandemic), the proportion of online sales for non-food remained at elevated levels, averaging 26.1% during these months.

Our research shows that almost 0.00 % of consumers say that since the pandemic, they spend more time browsing online and researching for retail products. This rises to 63% for consumers aged 16 to 24 and 0.00% for those aged between 25-34.

The battle for consumers’ attentions will increasingly be fought online – with Google, Facebook, Snapchat, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest and TikTok becoming the landlords of the digital environment.

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Comparison of penetration rates for non-food pre-pandemic, mid-pandemic during periods of no lockdown, and periods of lockdown

Source: Retail Economics

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  • Overview of UK retail sales
  • Retail sales growth by category Y-o-Y
  • Online sales growth (Y-o-Y)
  • Retail sales by region (£m)
  • Total spend by sector
  • Weekly spend (£m)
  • Footfall stats by channel
  • External data source summaries
  • Regional weather data