UK retail sales pick up in January

Following a disappointing December, total retail sales picked up in the UK during January, as discounting enticed shoppers. Over the month, sales rose 2.7 percent year-on-year, increasing against a growth of 2.6 percent at the beginning of 2025, new BRC figures have shown.

January performance came above a 12-month average growth of 2.3 percent, largely driven by food sales, which rose 3.8 percent YoY. Non-food sales, meanwhile, increased 1.7 percent, down from a growth of 2.5 percent last year, yet above the 12-month average of 1.1 percent.

In-store non-food sales saw the strongest growth at 2 percent, while online non-food sales increased 1.3 percent. The online penetration rate increased from last year’s 35.7 percent to 37.2 percent. This was below the 12-month average of 37.4 percent.

In a statement addressing the brighter January, Helen Dickinson, chief executive of the BRC, said: “Many shoppers had held off Christmas spending and waited for the January sales, with the start of the new year showing the strongest growth. And bargain hunting was not limited to online, with in-store sales showing the highest growth in over six months.”