Retail sales: Economic indicators

Economic indicators are quick-read summaries of the latest data focusing on different aspects of the UK economy. The full suite of indicators can be found on the main Economic Indicators page.

May 2025, retail sales in Great Britain totalled £9.0 billion per week, down from £9.0 billion in April. This figure includes money spent in shops, supermarkets, in petrol stations and online.

Between April and May, the total quantity of retail sales volumes fell by 2.7%, following an increase of 1.3% between March and April.

In the three months to May 2025, the volume of sales rose by 1.7% compared with the same period last year. The volume of sales rose by 0.8% in the three months to May 2025 compared with the previous three months. The volume of sales was 2.7% lower in May 2025 compared to February 2020 and pre-pandemic levels, reaching their highest level since December 2024.

Sales in food stores fell by 5.0% in May compared with April, the largest monthly fall since May 2021. Supermarket sales fell, with feedback from some retailers attributing this to inflation and customer cutbacks.

Sales in non-food stores, such as clothing and department stores, fell by 1.4% between April and May. Sales in clothing and household goods stores both fell.

The average weekly value of internet sales was £2.5 billion in May 2025 (excluding fuel). This was 27.2% of all retail sales. Internet sales as a proportion of all retail sales have been rising steadily since 2006, reaching around 19% of all sales in 2019. Internet sales rose sharply in April 2020 with the onset of the pandemic.

Next updates

This page is updated when new data is published. The next source updates will be:

• ONS, Retail Sales, 25 July 2025