ONS news and archive

Industry insiders give their reaction to latest ONS figures

British clothing and footwear retailers suffered their sharpest year-on-year decline since January 2022, with sales falling 2.6 per cent in November, marking the second consecutive monthly decrease. The Office for National Statistics' (ONS) latest retail monitor, which concluded on November 23, captured only a partial picture of consumer...

Retail

UK retail sales marginally rise in November as consumers hold back spending

New figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) have shown a marginal rise in retail sales volumes for the month of November, a slight increase that was offset by consumers waiting for discount periods in the following month. According to the data, sales were estimated to have risen by 0.2 percent, following a fall of 0.7 percent in...

Retail

Retail sector loses 225,000 jobs in five years

It is no secret that the retail sector has faced significant challenges in recent years, the impact of which has been reflected in new job figures issued by the Office for National Statistics (ONS). According to the organisation’s data, there were 2.81 million jobs in retail in September 2024, yet on a four-quarter average, this was 40,000 fewer...

Business

UK sees highest inflation rates since March, clothing drives up figures

New figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) have revealed an increase in inflation once again. According to the data, the Consumer Prices Index (CPI) rose by 2.6 percent in the 12 months to November 2024, increasing from 2.3 percent in the 12 months to October. On a monthly basis, meanwhile, CPI rose 0.1 percent for the month,...

Retail

Retail sales marginally drop in October amid Budget ‘uncertainty’

New figures by the Office of National Statistics (ONS) have revealed a slight drop in retail sales volumes in the UK throughout the month of October. According to the data, quantity bought in the region fell 0.7 percent, which comes on the back of a marginal 0.1 percent increase in the month prior. This contrasted figures reflecting the year to...

Retail

Five retail leaders respond to ONS August sales data

UK retail sales showed unexpected strength in August, driven by warmer weather and end-of-season discounts, according to the latest figures from the Office for National Statistics. The data revealed a 2.4 percent increase in sales by value and a 2.3 percent rise by volume, according to the British Retail Consortium (BRC), surpassing economists'...

Retail

August retail sales marginally up, clothing stores lead

New figures published by the Office of National Statistics (ONS) have shown that in August retail sales were marginally up on the month prior. Volumes rose by 1 percent during the month, which followed a more subtle rise of 0.7 percent in July. The uptick was accredited to warmer weather and end-of-season sales, according to reports from...

Business

Bank of England maintains interest rate at 5 percent

The Bank of England has placed the UK’s interest rate on hold at 5 percent after it was reported that inflation rates stayed at 2.2 percent in August, above the bank’s 2 percent target. The widely-expected decision was made following a meeting by the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC), who voted by a majority of eight to one to maintain the current...

Retail

European football Championship drives July retail sales

New figures from the Office of National Statistics (ONS) have revealed a slight increase in retail sales volumes in the UK for July 2024. According to the data platform, volumes rose by 0.5 percent, following a 0.9 percent drop in June 2024. Over the year, meanwhile, volumes were up by 1.4 percent to July, due to poor weather in the same month...

Business

UK inflation edges up in July for first time this year

After a promising few months of falling inflation in the UK, it appears that such an outcome wasn’t able to extend into July 2024, with headline inflation once again rising to 2.2 percent. This is according to the latest CPI figures, collected by the Office of National Statistics (ONS), which showed that, despite food inflation remaining...

Retail

Election uncertainty and poor weather impact retail sales in July

Retail sales volumes dropped 1.2 percent in June across the UK, according to the latest figures from the Office of National Statistics (ONS), which had in contrast reported an increase of 2.9 percent in May. While the organisation said that sales volumes had fallen across most sectors, department stores and clothing retailers had “broadly...

Retail

UK retail sales rise in May, clothing retailers welcome rebound

One day on from the report that inflation had finally hit Bank of England’s target, dropping to 2 percent, there appears to be more good news on the horizon for UK retailers. New figures by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) have shown that retail sales volumes rose by 2.9 percent in May following a slight 1.8 percent drop in April....