Average Household Spend In 2008

The average weekly household spend on commodities and services in UK households in 2008 was £471 compared to £459 in 2007. The analysis is carried out according to an internationally agreed classification system called the Classification of Individual Consumption by Purpose (COICOP).

In 2008 the highest category spend was on transport at £63/week of which purchase accounted for £21.10, £31.80 on the operation of personal transport and £10.50 was spent on transport services (public transport). The second highest category was recreation and culture at £60/week which includes TVs, computers, newspapers, books, leisure activities and package holidays. The third highest category was housing, fuel and power at £53/week.

Food and non-alcoholic drinks accounted for £51/week of household expenditure of which £13.10 went on meat and fish, £3.70 on fresh vegetables, £3 fresh fruit, and £2.10 on chocolate. Consumption patterns varied according to age. The most was spent where the reference person was aged 30-49. The average spend for that group was £582/week. The lowest average weekly spend was the over 75 age group with £217/week.

Retail Sales Up

The seasonally adjusted value of retail sales rose by 2.6% compared with July 2008. Food stores were 5.2% higher while non-food stores were 0.6% lower. Non-store retailing and repair sector was 10.8% up on last year.

The volume of retail sales rose by 3.3% compared with July 2008 and 1.6% on the quarter. Food stores were up by 2% and non-food stores by 3.4%. Non-store retailing and repair was 12.9% up on last year.

Prices were 0.7% lower than July 2009 driven mainly by non-food stores. The value of Internet sales in July was £178.3m or 3.3% of total retail sales. The total of retail sales was an estimated £21.9bn and average weekly sales in July was £5.5bn. Figures from ONS.