Retail sales, Great Britain: May 2026

The quantity of goods bought (volume) in retail sales is estimated to have risen by 0.4% in the three months to May 2026 compared with the three months to February 2026. Non-food stores’ sales volumes rose, with department stores performing well in May because of the good weather. Also within non-food stores, computer and telecoms retailers continued to grow following product releases in March 2026. Non-store retailers rose following strong March and May periods.

Retail sales volumes are estimated to have risen by 1.2% in May 2026. This follows a fall of 1.0% in April 2026 (revised up from a 1.3% fall in our previous bulletin), and a rise of 0.7% in March 2026 (revised up from a 0.6% rise in our previous bulletin). Retailers suggested that promotions and the hot weather in May increased sales volumes for non-store retailers and department stores.

Sales volumes rose by 0.4% in the three months to May 2026 compared with the three months to February 2026, an increase of 1.4% compared with the three months to May 2025.

Sales volumes rose by 1.2% over the month during May 2026, following a fall of 1.0% in April 2026.

Sales volumes rose by 3.2% over the year to May 2026.

Volumes fell by 0.4% compared with their pre-coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic level in February 2020.

These data are available in our Retail Sales Index dataset.

Sales volumes rose by 0.4% in the three months to May 2026 compared with the three months to February 2026. Sales volumes for non-food stores (the total of department, clothing, household, and other non-food stores) rose by 1.2%. Department stores sales volumes rose by 2.7% following strong monthly growth in May, which was the largest three-monthly rise since September 2024. Retailers reported that hot weather in May boosted sales of items such as fans and paddling pools. Within other non-food stores, sales volumes among computer and telecoms retailers also rose, as product releases in March remained in demand. Meanwhile, non-store retailers (which are predominately online) performed well, following rises in both March and May.

Sales volumes rose by 1.2% over the month to May 2026. Sales volumes for non-store retailers rose by 6.1%, the largest monthly rise since February 2025, bringing volumes to their highest level since January 2022. Retailer comments suggested that promotions and hot weather boosted sales of items such as outdoor furniture and fans. Non-food stores grew on the month as well, with department stores also benefiting from promotions and the hot weather.

The Met Office Weather and Climate summaries reported that 2026 saw the joint-third warmest May on record.

The amount spent online, known as “online spending values”, rose by 3.4%, when comparing the three months to May 2026 with the three months to February 2026. Online spending values rose by 9.8% compared with the three months to May 2025.

Within the monthly series, online sales values rose by 3.3% over the month to May 2026, an increase of 12.2% compared with May 2025.

The total spend (the sum of in-store and online sales) rose by 0.9% over the month. As a result, the proportion of sales made online rose from 28.1% in April 2026 to 28.8% in May 2026.

For May 2026, the Retail Sales Index (RSI) survey response rates were 57.0% based on returned forms, which is 3.9 percentage points below the average of the past 12 months. This accounted for 85.0% of total turnover coverage of the sample population, 2.6 percentage points below the average of the past 12 months. Historical response information is available in 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) report.

Seasonal adjustment

Seasonally adjusted estimates are derived by estimating and removing calendar effects (for example, Easter moving between March and April), and seasonal effects (for example, increased spending in December because of Christmas) from the non-seasonally adjusted estimates.

We use the X-13ARIMA-SEATS approach to seasonal adjustment. Seasonal adjustment parameters are monitored closely and are regularly reviewed. Improvements following our full annual seasonal adjustment review will be implemented as part of our next release on 24 July 2026. More information is available in our Seasonal adjustment methodology.

Seasonal adjustment is applied at the industry level, and the seasonally adjusted series are aggregated to create estimates by industry sector and total retail. As part of our quality assurance approach, residual seasonality checks are completed regularly by our time series analysis team on both the seasonally adjusted series and the indirectly derived aggregate time series.

Based on current data, we find no residual seasonality in the main aggregate for monthly retail sales estimates. We have separately published our comprehensive methodology on How the Office for National Statistics (ONS) assesses statistical outputs for residual seasonality.

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”.