Statistical bulletin: Retail Sales, December 2015

• Main points
• About this release
• Main figures
• Sector summary
• Impact of “Black Friday” and “Cyber Monday” on department stores in November and December 2015
• Internet sales in detail
• Contributions to growth
• Distribution analysis
• Economic context
• International data 
• Background notes
• Statistical contacts

Main Points

• Year-on-year estimates of the quantity bought in the retail industry showed growth for the 32nd consecutive month in December 2015, increasing by 2.6% compared with December 2014. 
• The underlying pattern in the data, as suggested by the 3 month on 3 month movement in the quantity bought, showed growth for the 24th consecutive month, increasing by 1.1%.
• Compared with November 2015, the quantity bought in the retail industry is estimated to have decreased by 1.0%.
• When comparing the 2015 annual data with 2014, the quantity bought in the retail industry was estimated to have increased by 4.5%.
• Average store prices (including petrol stations) fell by 3.2% in December 2015 compared with December 2014, the 18th consecutive month of year-on-year price falls. 
• The amount spent in the retail industry decreased by 1.0% in December 2015 compared with December 2014 and decreased by 1.4% compared with November 2015.
• The value of online sales increased by 8.2% in December 2015 compared with December 2014 and decreased by 5.2% compared with November 2015.
• Revisions to this release were caused by the incorporation of late data. The earliest revisions point for current price, non-seasonally adjusted data was December 2014. More information on revisions can be found in the background notes.

Source: Office for National Statistics licensed under the Open Government Licence v.1.0.