United Kingdom "UK": retail sales fall unexpectedly in January

 

News on Top  Heavy snowfall put people off from going out to the shops, the ONS suggests

UK retail sales fell unexpectedly in January, confounding economists' expectations for a rise.

Volumes fell 0.6% from December 2012, hurt by heavy snowfall, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said.
Volumes also fell 0.6% from a year ago, the first annual fall in 17 months.
The ONS highlighted weak sales in the food sector, which dropped 2.6% year-on-year to the lowest level since April 2004. It also said small stores had fared worse than large stores.
Smaller retailers in the food sector suggested that the heavy snow seen in the second half of January had affected sales.
In contrast, larger retailers suggested that some of the increase they saw came from a rise in online sales.
In the food sector, the proportion of online sales rose 27% on the year. That meant that online sales now make up a record 3.7% of all food sales.

The ONS data had an immediate impact on sterling, with the pound falling by more than a cent against the dollar to $1.5477.
By value, retail sales fell by 0.4% on the month and were unchanged on the year.