Retail sales volumes nudged higher in October, official figures showed on Friday, partially reversing September’s fall.
According to the Office for National Statistics, sales rose 0.6% following a fall of 1.5% – revised down from an initial estimate for 1.4% – in September, when shops and businesses closed for the state funeral of Elizabeth II. Analysts had been expecting a rise of around 0.5%.
Increases were seen across all the main sectors apart from food stores, where volumes fell 1%, or 4.1% when compared to pre-Covid levels in February 2020.
Industry data is increasingly showing that consumers, hit hard by the inflation and the cost of living crisis, are switching to cheaper brands and buying less when doing their weekly shops.
Non-food sales volumes rose by 1.1% in October 2022, although they remain 1.7% below February 2020.
In the three months to October, sales still fell, down 2.4% against the previous three months.
