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Retail sales volumes rose by 1.4% in April 2022 following a fall of 1.2% in March 2022 taking sales volumes to 4.1% above their pre-coronavirus (COVID-19) February 2020 levels.
The proportion of retail sales online rose to 27.0% in April 2022 from 25.9% in March and remains substantially higher than the 19.9% in February 2020 before the coronavirus pandemic.
Unsurprisingly it was digital sales that drove the biggest boost last month; non-store retailing sales volumes, which are predominantly sales from online-only retailers, rose by 3.7% in April 2022 led by stronger clothing sales.
Food store sales volumes rose by 2.8% in April 2022, mostly because of higher spending on alcohol, tobacco and confectionery in supermarkets although supermarket food sales were broadly unchanged.
Record increases in petrol and diesel drove automotive fuel sales volumes to rise by 1.4% in April 2022 following a fall of 4.2% in March.
Non-food stores sales volumes fell by 0.6% in April 2022 in household goods stores including such as furniture stores.
ONS deputy director for Surveys & Economic Indicators Heather Bovill, said that the rise in supermarket sales and off-licence sales was “possibly due to people staying in more to save money.”
Looking more broadly, figures still show a downward trend: in the three months to April 2022, sales volumes fell by 0.3% when compared with the previous three months; this continues the downward trend since summer 2021.