Gokhan Ergocun
21 August 2026•Update: 21 August 2026
The Office for National Statistics reported that retail sales declined by 0.5% in July, following a downwardly revised 0.7% increase in June and an upwardly revised 1.3% rise in May.
Non-food stores and non-store retailers experienced a drop in July as consumers brought forward their demand to June due to earlier promotional activities, official figures showd on Friday.
The quantity of goods bought rose by 1.1% in the three months to July compared with the previous three months.
Retail sales volumes climbed 1.6% in July compared to the same month of 2025.
The overall sales volume remained 0.1% below its pre-coronavirus pandemic level from February 2020.