All data in this report are not seasonally adjusted. Source: Office for National Statistics (ONS)/Coresight Research

Source: ONS/Coresight Research

Retail Sales Growth by Sector

The earlier timing of Easter this year pulled forward some holiday spending from April to March. This distorted year-over-year growth rates and makes it more difficult to identify the underlying performance of retail in March. At the same time, unusually cold weather at the start of March had a dampening effect on retail growth for the month. Clothing specialists saw an unusually weak month, with the total decline of 0.1% driven by small chains and independent stores; large chains eked out growth of 0.9%. Footwear retailers saw an exceptionally weak month, according to the ONS. The DIY sector recorded strong growth, but sales in this sector are traditionally boosted by spending over the four-day Easter weekend. Shop-price inflation fell back from 2.6% in February to 2.0% in March, according to the ONS. In March, inflation was 2.5% in food stores, down from 2.9% in February. Inflation in nonfood stores was 1.5% in March, down from 2.3% in February.

*A relatively small or fragmented sector, where reported figures have traditionally proved volatile. **A small retailer is defined as one with fewer than 100 employees or with revenues of £60 million or less per year; all others are large retailers. Source: ONS

Online Retail Sales Growth

Total Internet retail sales were up 13.5% year over year in March. Internet sales grew by 5.7% at food retailers and by 15.9% at nonfood retailers.