Retail sales growth beats analysts’ expectations

Retail sales grew by 0.8 per cent in February, beating analysts’ expectations.

However, in the three months to February, sales fell by 0.4 per cent, according to the Office for National Statistics. This was due to a sharp drop in sales in December.

The bump was largely due to growth in groceries, fuel and online sales.

Year-on-year, sales were up 1.5 per cent; analysts had forecast annual growth of 1.3 per cent.

“Grocers led the way by persuading shoppers to spend a greater share of their disposable income, either online or in store,” said Keith Richardson at Lloyds Bank Commercial Banking.

“Inflation fell last month, while the rise in the living wage announced last week will also help once it trickles down into shoppers’ wallets. In the meantime, consumers are still being cautious and will only spend if the offer is absolutely right.”

The ONS’ breakdown showed a mixed picture; food sales jumped 1.1 per cent, but non-food sales fell by 0.8 per cent, as department stores suffered.

UK retail sales recovered in February, but only matched their Q4 average. Crucially, data collected between Jan 28 and Feb 24, BEFORE the snow hit from Feb 27. March data will be awful & retail sales will fall q/q%in Q1, dragging on GDP growth. pic.twitter.com/HkBvikWRfe— Samuel Tombs (@samueltombs) March 22, 2018