Retail sales volumes increased by 1.2% in February 2023, following a rise of 0.9% in January 2023.
Figures this morning from the Office for National Statistics showed that people cut back on eating out and takeaways last month and instead bought food at supermarkets and shopped at discount stores
“In the latest month, discount department stores performed strongly with food shops also doing well as consumers, confronted with cost-of-living pressures, cut back on eating out or purchasing takeaways,” ONS statistician Darren Morgan said
Sales in February were boosted by a 2.4% increase in non-food store sales, which includes department, clothing, household and other non-food stores, well up on the 1% rise reported in January.
“At face value, these data further add to the view that the recent resilience in activity is still holding up. But when households’ finances are under pressure, it is possible that any improvement in retail sales will be just be met by a softening in non-retail spending such as restaurants,” said Ashley Webb, an economist at Capital Economics.
