Retail Sales Summary, August 2012

Table 1: All Retailers, August 2012 (seasonally adjusted percentage change).

The amount spent on retailing (all retailing sales values) increased in August 2012 by 3.0 per cent compared with August 2011 and by 0.2 per cent when compared with July 2012. The amount bought (all retailing sales volumes) increased by 2.7 per cent compared with August 2011 but decreased by 0.2 per cent compared with July 2012.

Of the increase in the amount bought, the non-food sector contributed 2.2 percentage points (pp), the food sector 0.4 pp retailers that sell mainly online or through mail order (non-store retailing) provided 0.2 pp of the growth, while the fuel sector provided a negative contribution of 0.1 pp.

The largest contribution to growth in the non-food sector came from the other stores category in particular sporting goods and toys. Feedback from these stores suggests that sales were boosted by an increase in sales of football shirts with the start of the new season and the European Championships but also from increased sales as a result of the Olympics.

In August 2012, Internet sales (online sales for all retailers) were estimated to be 8.1 per cent of all retail sales (excluding automotive fuel). This is less than the 9.0 per cent in July 2012 and the lowest proportion since August 2011 (7.8 per cent). Feedback from online retailers suggests that sales were lower as consumers watched the Olympics instead of shopping online.

Source: Office for National Statistics

Background notes

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