UK retail sales accelerates by 0.2%

Retail sales in the UK expanded at a pace of 0.2% in August. 

Other key points include: 

• The underlying pattern in the data, as suggested by the 3 month on 3 month movement in the quantity bought, showed growth for the 30th consecutive month, increasing by 0.4%.
• Compared with July 2015, the quantity bought in the retail industry is estimated to have increased by 0.2%.
• Average store prices (including petrol stations) fell by 3.3% in August 2015 compared with August 2014; the 14th consecutive month of year-on-year price falls.
• The amount spent in the retail industry increased by 0.2% in August 2015 compared with August 2014, but decreased by 0.3% compared with July 2015.
• The value of online sales increased by 7.4% in August 2015 compared with August 2014, but decreased by 2.7% compared with July 2015.  
• Revisions in this release were caused by the incorporation of late data. The earliest revisions point for current price, non-seasonally adjusted data was August 2014. More information on revisions can be found in the background notes.

The report can be found here.