Online now at almost 20% of total retail sales - ONS

The ONS has reported on retail sales for July 2019 with estimates for both the amount spent (value) and quantity bought (volume) showing growth across all measures.Main Points:In the three months to July 2019, the quantity bought in retail sales increased by 0.5% when compared with the previous three months, with food stores and fuel stores seeing a decline.The quantity bought in July 2019 increased by 0.2% when compared with the previous month, with strong growth of 6.9% in non-store retailing.Department stores’ growth increased for the first time this year with a month-on-month growth of 1.6%; this was following six consecutive months of decline.Year-on-year growth in the quantity bought increased by 3.3% in July 2019, with food stores being the only main sector reporting a fall at negative 0.5%.Online:In July 2019, online retailing accounted for 19.9% of total retailing compared with 18.9% in June 2019, with an overall growth of 12.7% when compared with the same month a year earlier.Amazon’s Prime Day shopping event on the 15th and 16th July is understood to have had a notable impact on the growth in online sales.Source : Insight DIY Team and ONSFor all the very latest news and intelligence on the largest UK home improvement and garden retailers, sign up for the Insight DIY weekly newsletter.