Latest reading: Retail sales increased 0.2% in month-on-month seasonally adjusted terms in May, which was a deterioration from April’s 0.8%...
Retail Sales in United Kingdom
The British economy recorded an average growth rate of 3.5% in retail sales over the decade to 2024, below Major Economies's average of 3.5%. In 2024, the United Kingdom's retail sales growth was 0.4%.
United Kingdom Retail Chart
Note: This chart displays Retail Sales (ann. var. %) for United Kingdom from 2018 to 2024.
Source: Macrobond.
United Kingdom Retail Data
| 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Retail Sales (ann. s.a. var. %) | -1.5 | 4.8 | -3.9 | -2.9 | 0.4 |
Retail sales fall at sharpest pace since December 2023 in May
Latest reading: Retail sales fell 2.7% month-on-month in seasonally adjusted terms in May (April: +1.3% mom). The outturn marked the worst reading since December 2023 and was a far sharper fall than markets expected. A sharp drop in food stores sales drove the downturn. That said, the data is frequently volatile from month to month, meaning the May fall shouldn’t be overinterpreted. On an annual basis, retail sales fell 1.2% in May (April: +4.9% yoy), the worst result since June 2024. Accordingly, the trend pointed down, with the annual average growth of retail sales coming in at 0.9% in May, down from April's 1.1% reading.
Consensus Forecasts and Projections for the next ten years
How should you choose a forecaster if some are too optimistic while others are too pessimistic? FocusEconomics collects British retail projections for the next ten years from a panel of 3 analysts at the leading national, regional and global forecast institutions. These projections are then validated by our in-house team of economists and data analysts and averaged to provide one Consensus Forecast you can rely on for each indicator. By averaging all forecasts, upside and downside forecasting errors tend to cancel each other out, leading to the most reliable retail forecast available for British retail.
Download one of our sample reports to visualize what a Consensus Forecast is and see our British retail projections.
Want to get access to the full dataset of British retail forecasts? Send an email to info@focus-economics.com.
Latest Global Retail News
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Spain: Retail sales growth ebbs in May -
Luxembourg: Retail sales deteriorates in May Latest reading: Retail sales dropped 0.1% month-on-month in seasonally adjusted terms in May (April: +0.9% mom). On an annual basis,... -
Poland: Retail sales growth deteriorates in May Latest reading: Retail sales increased 4.4% year on year in May (April: +7.6% yoy). Looking at the details of the... -
United Kingdom: Retail sales fall at sharpest pace since December 2023 in May Latest reading: Retail sales fell 2.7% month-on-month in seasonally adjusted terms in May (April: +1.3% mom). The outturn marked the... -
United States: Retail sales contract at sharpest pace since March 2023 in May Latest reading: Retail sales dropped 0.9% month-on-month in seasonally adjusted terms in May (April: -0.1% mom), a larger fall than... -
Indonesia: Retail sales rebound in May Latest reading: Retail sales rose 2.6% year on year in May (April: -0.3% yoy). The rebound was partly driven by... -
Switzerland: Retail sales dips in April Latest reading: Retail sales fell 0.3% month-on-month in seasonally adjusted terms in April (March: +0.2% mom). April’s figure was largely...