UK food retail stores’ sales volumes fell by 0.3% over February as figures were blamed on “unsettled weather” from what was Southern England’s “wettest February on record”.
New data from the Office of National Statistics showed that last month’s slight fall in sales followed January’s recovery from December’s record fall in 2023.
The fall was also blamed on the weather with Met Office climate summaries reporting a mild but wet February this year “with generally unsettled weather”, impacting brick-and-mortar footfall
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In the south of England alone, the month experienced 239% of its average rainfall and has been labelled the wettest February recorded since 1836.
Meanwhile, online retail sales rose during the month, with online food store value sales increasing by 0.8%.
ONS Senior Statistician Heather Bovill said: “Retail sales were flat in February. There was growth in clothing, which rebounded after recent falls as people invested in the new season’s collections, as well as department stores.
“However, these were offset by falls in fuel sales, possibly affected by rising prices, and a reduction in food sales. Many shops told us that the wet weather hit in store sales, with online instead seeing a boost.”
