Sales volumes increased by 1.9% in the three months to March 2024. Credit: William Barton via Shutterstock.com.

UK retail sales volumes remained unchanged in March 2024, following a marginal increase in February, as reported by the Office for National Statistics (ONS).  

Compared with a year ago, sales volumes were 0.8% higher, yet sales were still 1.2% below the pre-pandemic levels of February 2020. 

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The ONS data showed that retail sales volumes experienced a 1.9% increase in the three months leading up to March 2024, compared to the preceding quarter, recovering from low sales during the Christmas period.  

During the month, non-food stores, including department, clothing, household, and other non-food retailers, saw a 0.5% rise in sales volumes, attributed to higher footfall. 

The ONS noted an alignment between the increase in non-food store sales and the uptick in high street footfall, as detailed in their bulletin on economic activity and social change.  

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Notable gains were observed in secondhand goods stores, hardware and furniture stores, and clothing stores. 

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However, these positive trends were counterbalanced by declines in department stores, food stores, and non-store retailing, where the rising prices impacted consumer spending patterns.  

Sales in automotive fuel and non-food stores enjoyed sales volume increases of 3.2% and 0.5%, respectively over the month while food stores reported a 0.7% decrease and non-store retailers posted a 1.5% drop. 

Online spending values edged up by 0.1% over the month and by 1.7% from the same period last year, slightly boosting the proportion of online sales to 25.9% in March. 

Earlier this month, data from BRC British Retail Consortium-Sensormatic IQ revealed that the UK retail sector experienced a 1.3% decline in footfall in March 2024 compared to the same month in 2023.