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Retail sales data February 23

ended 24. March 2023

Retail sales volumes are estimated to have increased by 1.2% in February 2023, following a rise of 0.9% in January 2023 (revised from a rise of 0.5%), according to the Office for National Statistics. When compared with the same month a year earlier, sales volumes fell by 3.5%. Full report here. We asked financial services experts for their views, below.

2 responses from the Newspage community

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Simon Jones
CEO at Investing Reviews
The cost of living crisis has without doubt been weighing down on the consumer over the past year or so but, based on this evidence, the UK economy is proving far more resilient than many thought. Despite countless headwinds, including double digit inflation and rising interest rates, the UK consumer hasn’t gone to ground. The fact sales volumes rose by 1.2%, when the consensus was 0.2%, will leave many economists scratching their heads, but this is positive news for UK plc as we enter the weekend. It's far too early to say we are in recovery mode given the significant pressures the economy is under but these are promising signs.
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Samuel Mather-Holgate
Independent Financial Adviser at Mather and Murray Financial
Well it looks like the Brits are a romantic lot, as sales around Valentine’s Day smashed expected retail non-food expectations. These figures may be revised down slightly, but it’s a promising sign for the high street. However, the latest central bank rate hike this week will stub out this confidence. Though this data is stronger than expected, the UK economy is still on thin ice.