Statistical article
Retail sales fell in October 2024 following poor clothing sales
A first estimate of retail sales in Great Britain.
Headline facts and figures
Estimated monthly retail sales volumes
down 0.7%
in October 2024
Estimated three-month retail sales volumes
up 0.8%
in three months to October 2024
Proportion of sales made online
27.7%
in October 2024
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Overview
Retail sales volumes (quantity bought) are estimated to have fallen by 0.7% in October 2024, following a rise of 0.1% in September 2024 (revised down from 0.3% in our last publication).
Non-food stores sales volumes fell on the month as retailers reported that Budget uncertainty affected sales.
More broadly, sales volumes rose by 0.8% in the three months to October 2024, when compared with the three months to July 2024.
Retail sales in October
Monthly sales volumes fell in October 2024 following three months of growth
The chart shows the quantity bought in retail sales over time, for both the rolling three-month-on-three-month and the month-on-month movement.
Sales volumes fell by 0.7% during October 2024 following a revised 0.1% rise in September 2024. However, over the year to October 2024, sales volumes rose by 2.4%.
When compared with their pre-coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic level in February 2020, volumes were down by 1.5%.
More broadly, there was a 0.8% rise across the three months to October 2024 when compared with the three months to July 2024. When comparing with the same period last year, there was a 2.5% rise, the largest since March 2022. This was after the 2.6% recent high in September 2024 was revised down to 2.1%. These data are available in our Retail Sales Index datasets.
The reporting period for this bulletin covers 29 September 2024 to 26 October 2024. Historically, school half term for England and Wales typically falls within the October reporting period but did not for October 2024. This is not adjusted for in our seasonal adjustment.
Retail sector volumes
Clothing stores fell back, following three months of growth
Non-food stores sales volumes – the total of department, clothing, household and other non-food stores – fell by 1.4% in October 2024, following a rise of 2.3% in September. Retailers across a range of industries suggested that low consumer confidence and uncertainty around the Budget announcement (which took place on 30 October 2024) affected sales.
The strongest subsector fall was within clothing stores, which fell by 3.1% over the month to October 2024. This fall follows growth in previous months attributed to end of season sales and improved weather, see Retail sales, Great Britain August 2024.
Other non-food stores also fell by 1.4% over the month following strong growth in September 2024. Within this subsector, the strongest downward contribution was from other retail sales (not elsewhere specified), which includes activities of commercial art galleries.
Online retail values
Online sales fell across all main sectors, highest within non-food retailers
The amount spent online, known as "online spending values", fell by 1.2% during October 2024, but rose by 5.0% when compared with October 2023.
Total spend – the sum of in-store and online sales – fell by 0.6% over the month. As a result, the proportion of sales made online decreased from 27.8% in September 2024 to 27.7% in October 2024.
Data on retail sales
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Retail Sales Index
A series of retail sales data for Great Britain in value and volume terms, seasonally and non-seasonally adjusted.
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Retail sales pounds data
Total sales and average weekly spending estimates for each retail sector in Great Britain in the thousands (British pounds).
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Retail Sales Index internet sales
Internet sales in Great Britain by store type, month, and year.
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Retail Sales Index categories and their percentage weights
Retail sales categories and descriptions and their percentage of all retailing in Great Britain.
Data sources and quality
For October 2024, the Retail Sales Index (RSI) response rates were 64.8%, based on returned forms. This accounted for 95.2% of total turnover coverage of the sample population. For historical response information, see our Retail sales quality tables dataset.
Information on how we calculated the data, including strengths and limitations, and a glossary of relevant terms, is available in our Retail Sales Index Quality and Methodology Information (QMI).
Accredited official statistics
These accredited official statistics were independently reviewed by the Office for Statistics Regulation in March 2015. They comply with the standards of trustworthiness, quality and value in the Code of Practice for Statistics and should be labelled “accredited official statistics”.
Cite this statistical article
Office for National Statistics (ONS), released 22 November 2024, ONS website, statistical article, Retail sales, Great Britain: October 2024