Retail Sales Volume decreased by 0.7% in March 2017
Seasonally adjusted, the volume of retail sales decreased by 0.7% in the month of March, with an annual increase of 3.2%. If Motor Trades are excluded, there was an increase of 0.7% in the volume of retail sales in March 2017 when compared with February 2017 and there was an increase of 6.0% in the annual figure.
The sectors with the largest monthly volume decreases were Furniture and Lighting (-3.8%), Department Stores (-3.3%) and Motor Trades (-1.9%). The sectors with the largest month on month volume increases were Other Retail Sales (11.6%), Food beverages & Tobacco (1.9%) and Bars (1.3%).
There was a decrease of 0.8% in the value of retail sales in March 2017 when compared with February 2017 and there was an annual increase of 0.9% when compared with March 2016. If Motor Trades are excluded, there was an increase of 0.3% in the value of retail sales and an annual increase of 3.5%.
