UK retail sales fall less than expected in February

UK retail sales fell less than expected in February, according to figures released by the Office for National Statistics on Friday.

Sales were down 0.4% following a revised 2% increase in January. Although it marked the first decline in three months, it was not as steep as the 0.8% fall expected by economists.

January's figure was revised up from a 1.8% jump.

Supermarkets' sales volumes fell back following a rise in January, the ONS said. Meanwhile, non-store retailers' volumes also fell, with retailers suggesting that consumers brought forward their spending to January to maximise on discounting during the period.

In the three months to February, sales rose 0.7% compared with the three months to November 2025. The ONS attributed the jump to better sales for non-store retailers following a weaker November last year, as well as strong artwork sales volumes in January 2026.

Hannah Finselbach, senior statistician at the ONS, said: "Retail sales rose in the three months to February, with online shops seeing strong sales and art dealers also faring well.

"These were partially offset by a weak period for clothing stores."

Matt Swannell, chief economic advisor to the EY ITEM Club, said: "Today's data release predates the outbreak of the conflict in the Middle East, which has further worsened the outlook for the retail sector. Real household income growth was already slowing due to weaker pay growth and rising joblessness.

"However, the recent rise in oil and gas prices means higher inflation will now add to the squeeze. Meanwhile, there are also early signs that the fallout from the conflict has hindered consumer sentiment, which could further prompt households to delay some spending decisions. Overall, we expect consumer spending growth to remain subdued this year."

Dan Coatsworth, head of markets at AJ Bell, said that despite the gloomy showing for February, the retail sales data "wasn’t a total disaster".

Firstly, he pointed out that the decline was less bad than feared, and secondly, he highlighted the growth on a three-month basis to February.

"Retailers will have to take the three-month figures as a win, as life could get a lot worse from here," Coatsworth said. 

"The Middle East crisis has the potential to inflict an inflation shock thanks to the spike in oil and gas prices and there are early signs that consumer confidence has sunk again. The Bank of England might have to raise interest rates to fight inflation, making it more expensive for consumers and businesses to borrow money and service debt. 

"Higher energy prices make it more expensive to fill up the car with fuel or boil the kettle for a cup of tea, and they could feed into higher costs for food, drink and clothing. Households might feel no choice but to watch their spending more closely and that is terrible news for retailers."