February retail sales remain flat, but clothing sales grow

New monthly figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) revealed that retail sales volumes in the UK were estimated to be entirely flat for the month of February, a disappointing result following the prior month’s 3.6 percent increase.

In the three months to February, meanwhile, sales volumes fell 0.4 percent compared to the previous three months.

The drop was attributed to a fall in sales at food stores and fuel retailers, which had offset a comparative growth in clothing and department store sales, driven by the introduction of new collections and promotions.

As such, sales volumes for non-food stores rose 0.7 percent, with clothing stores seeing a monthly increase of 1.7 percent, a mark of success following a string of drops in recent months.

Sales volumes at department stores saw an uptick of 1.6 percent in sales, while other non-food stores grew 0.4 percent.

Poor weather conditions were deemed the cause of the flat sales volumes for retail, yet it was this that resulted in a 2.1 percent increase in online spending throughout February, an uptick of 2.2 percent over the year.

Online, clothing retailers reported strong sales compared to department stores, which were one of the only two sectors in which sales value fell.