Retail Sales Great Britain - March 2025

26th April 2025

Retail sales volumes (quantity bought) are estimated to have risen by 0.4% in March 2025. This follows a rise of 0.7% in February 2025 (revised down from a rise of 1.0% in our last bulletin).

Clothing and outdoor retailers reported that good weather boosted sales. These increases were partly offset by falls in supermarket sales.

Looking at the quarter, sales volumes rose by 1.6% in Quarter 1 (Jan to Mar) 2025, compared with Quarter 4 (Oct to Dec) 2024, and by 1.7% when compared with Quarter 1 2024.

The chart shows the quantity bought in retail sales over time, for both the rolling three-month-on-three-month and the month-on-month movements.

Sales volumes rose by 0.4% during March 2025, following a 0.7% rise in February. Sales volumes rose by 2.6% over the year to March 2025.

Volumes were down by 0.3%, compared with their pre-coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic level in February 2020.

More broadly, three months of rising volumes led to a 1.6% rise across the three months to March 2025 (Quarter 1), when compared with the three months to December 2024 (Quarter 4). This was the largest three-monthly rise since July 2021. There was a 1.7% rise when comparing with the same period last year.

Retail sector volumes
Volumes for non-food stores and non-store retailers rose on the month, while food stores fell.

Non-food stores sales volumes - the total of department, clothing, household and other non-food stores - rose by 1.7% over the month. This put monthly sales volumes at their highest level since March 2022. Within non-food stores, clothing stores were the subsector with the strongest growth with retailers mentioning good weather boosting sales. Other non-food stores also rose in March 2025, which was strongest within second-hand goods stores (includes antiques and auction houses) and stores selling garden supplies. Retailer comments pointed to the good weather.

Non-store retailing sales volumes were up on the month, with similar commentary received about the weather, specifically mentioning boosts to clothing and DIY goods.

The Met Office climate summaries reported that the UK had its third sunniest March on record, and reported that March 2025 was warmer and drier than usual.

These rises were partly offset by food stores sales volumes which fell by 1.3% on the month, following a 2.2% fall in February 2025. Supermarkets had the largest downward contribution.

Online retail values
The amount spent online, known as "online spending values", rose by 2.0% over the month to March 2025. Sales values also rose by 5.4% when comparing March 2025 with March 2024. However, they fell by 0.3% when comparing the three months to March 2025 (Quarter 1) with the three months to December 2024 (Quarter 4). Total spend - the sum of in-store and online sales - rose by 0.3% over the month. As a result, the proportion of sales made online rose from 26.4% in February 2025 to 26.8% in March 2025.

Rad the full ONS report HERE