ONS Retail Sales August 2026

Retail sales (value, non-seasonally adjusted, exc. fuel) grew by 4.7% year on year (YoY) in August according to the latest ONS data. It compares to a 3.2% uplift a year earlier.
In volume terms (non-seasonally adjusted, exc. fuel), retail sales grew by 2.7% YoY in August. It compares to a 1.1% uplift a year earlier.
It should be noted that ONS figures are based on a sample of some 5,000 retailers and are subject to revisions.

Retail sales value and volume growth – percentage change on a year earlier

Source: ONS, Retail Economics analysis

Note: all retail sales figures provided below are non-seasonally adjusted, excluding Fuel, unless stated otherwise.

Food and non-food

Food sales values rose by 3.1% YoY in August, against a 2.4% uplift a year earlier. Adjusting for inflation, food sales volumes increased by 1.1%.
Non-food sales values rose by 4.5% in August, while volumes increased by 3.1%. Department stores and clothing retailers recovered following weaker sales in July.
Clothing sales values rose by 3.3% YoY, while volumes increased by 2.5%. Footwear and leather goods remained under pressure, with values down 6.0% and volumes falling 4.9%.
Household Goods volumes rose by 5.2% YoY in August, with Furniture and Lighting up 7.0%. Elsewhere, Computers and Telecommunications Equipment jumped 38.1%.
Pharmaceuticals, Cosmetics and Toiletries volumes remained a standout, rising by 10.3% in August, marking a fifth consecutive month of double-digit growth.

Online

Online sales values grew by 9.2% YoY in August, against a 5.6% uplift a year earlier.
Clothing and Footwear declined by 0.8% YoY, while Household Goods increased by 22.8% in August.
Non-store retailing (a proxy for pureplay retailers) rose by 12.5% YoY in August, against a 4.8% uplift a year earlier.
The proportion of retail sales made online rose to 27.3% in August, compared to 26.1% a year earlier, but eased from 27.5% in July.
Overall, average weekly online sales reached £2.6bn in August.

Retail sales price deflator

The retail sales deflator (a measure of inflation specific to retail) rose by 1.9% excluding fuel and by 3.5% including fuel.
The implied price deflator among food stores eased to 1.9%, its joint-lowest rate since June 2025. Among non-food stores, the price deflator rose to 1.4% in August.