UK total retail spending edged up in January - BRC

According to the report from British Retail Consortium, on a Total basis, sales increased by 0.4% in January, against an increase of 2.2% in January 2019. This is above both the 3-month and 12-month average declines of 0.4% and 0.2% respectively. The 12-month average hit a new record low since our records began in 1995.

In January, UK retail sales were flat on a Like-for-like basis from January 2019, when they had increased 1.8% from the preceding year.

Over the three months to January, Food sales decreased 0.1% on a Like-for-like basis and increased 0.6% on a Total basis. This is below the 12-month Total average growth of 1.2%, the lowest since February 2017.

Over the three-months to January, Non-Food retail sales in the UK decreased by 1.5% on a like-for-like and 1.3% on a Total basis. This is in line with the 12-month Total average. For the month of January, Non-Food was in slight growth year-on-year.

Over the three months to January, In-store sales of Non-Food items declined 3.0% on a Total and 3.3% on a Like-for-like basis. This is slightly better than the 12-month Total average decline of 3.1%.

Online Non-Food sales increased by 2.5% in January, against a growth of 5.4% in January 2019. This is lower than the 3m and 12m averages of 2.6% and 3.1% respectively.

Non-Food Online penetration rate increased from 29.5% in January 2019 to 30.6%.