Retail sales, Great Britain: October 2021

Retail sales volumes rose by 0.8% in October 2021, from a revised unchanged (0.0%) position between August and September (previous estimate was a 0.2% fall); volumes were 5.8% higher than their pre-coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic February 2020 levels.

Non-food stores was the only main retail sector that saw a rise in sales volumes, increasing by 4.2% in October 2021, because of growth in other non-food stores (7.2%), such as second-hand stores, toy stores and sports equipment stores, and clothing stores (6.2%).

Clothing stores sales volumes in October 2021 were only 0.5% below pre-pandemic levels in February 2020, with some retailers suggesting that early Christmas trading had boosted sales.

Automotive fuel sales volumes fell by 6.4% in October 2021 as they returned to more typical recent levels following strong growth in September; volumes were 5.0% below their February 2020 levels.

Food store sales volumes fell by 0.3% in October 2021; despite the fall in October, volumes were 3.4% above pre-coronavirus pandemic levels in February 2020.

The proportion of retail sales online fell to 27.3% in October 2021, its lowest proportion since March 2020 (22.5%) but still substantially higher than the 19.7% in February 2020 before the coronavirus pandemic.