Retail Sales Up 2.5%

The value of retail sales in June 2010 went up by 2.5% compared with June 2009 according to the ONS Retail Sales Index. The index stood at 116.3 compared with 116.2 in May 2010 an increase of 0.1% and 113.5 in June 2009. The volume rose by 1.3%. The index was 113.1 compared with 111.7 in June 2009 and 112.3 in May 2010 an increase of 0.7%.

In food stores the value of sales was up by 1.7% on a year ago while the volume was 0.2% lower. The value of sales rose by 3.7% in non-food stores along with an increase of 4.4% in the volume of sales. Household goods rose by 4.4% in value and 6.1% in volume, textiles, clothing and footwear increased in sales value by 3.3% and in volume by 4.2%. The non-specialised store category sales increased in value by 9.1% and volume increased by 10.3%. Non-store retailing increased sales values by 14.1% and volume by 14.8%. The figures are seasonally-adjusted.

Non-seasonally adjusted prices were estimated to have risen by 1.3% compared with June 2009. The value of fuel sales was 3.6% lower than last year but the volume was 15.9% lower. The value of Internet retail sales in June was estimated to have been £437m which equates to 7.9% of total retail sales (excluding fuel). The total value of sales in June 2010 was estimated to have been £30.9bn (non-seasonally-adjusted) and the average weekly value was £6.2bn.

Different sized retailers have a mix of experiences in terms of growth of sales value and volume. The biggest retailers with over 100 employees reported an average 3.3% increase in sales between June 2009 and June 2010. The smallest retailers, with 0-9 employees, sales fell by 0.9% over the same period. Those employing 40-69 employees experienced 51.3% growth over the year but businesses with 70-99 employees saw their sales decrease by 45.7%.