Retail sales increased in April

Published:

The seasonally-adjusted volume index of retail sales increased by 0.6 per cent from March to April 2018. This follows an increase of 0.4 per cent from February to March 2018.

The long-term trend in retail sales has shown a slight increase since the spring of 2017.

Figure 1. Retail sales volume index, seasonally adjusted and trend. 2015=100

Retail trade, except sales of motor vehicles seasonally adjusted Retail trade, except sales of motor vehicles trend
Jan. 2012 96.5 96.2
Feb. 2012 96.4 96.4
Mar. 2012 97.2 96.7
Apr. 2012 96.3 96.9
May 2012 98.4 97.1
June 2012 96.7 97.2
July 2012 97.2 97.3
Aug. 2012 97.2 97.3
Sep. 2012 97.7 97.3
Oct. 2012 96.9 97.4
Nov. 2012 97.3 97.6
Dec. 2012 97.7 97.8
Jan. 2013 99.5 98.1
Feb. 2013 98.9 98.3
Mar. 2013 98.6 98.5
Apr. 2013 97.3 98.6
May 2013 100.1 98.6
June 2013 99.1 98.7
July 2013 98.4 98.7
Aug. 2013 98.7 98.7
Sep. 2013 99.1 98.6
Oct. 2013 98.2 98.6
Nov. 2013 98.4 98.7
Dec. 2013 98.8 98.9
Jan. 2014 98.9 99.1
Feb. 2014 99.5 99.4
Mar. 2014 100 99.7
Apr. 2014 100.8 100
May 2014 99.7 100.1
June 2014 100.9 100.2
July 2014 99 100.2
Aug. 2014 99.9 100.2
Sep. 2014 100.3 100.1
Oct. 2014 100.1 100.1
Nov. 2014 99.9 100.2
Dec. 2014 100.8 100.4
Jan. 2015 100 100.6
Feb. 2015 100.7 100.7
Mar. 2015 101 100.7
Apr. 2015 103.2 100.7
May 2015 98.9 100.5
June 2015 100 100.4
July 2015 100.6 100.3
Aug. 2015 101 100.3
Sep. 2015 100.1 100.3
Oct. 2015 100.7 100.4
Nov. 2015 100.3 100.4
Dec. 2015 100.1 100.3
Jan. 2016 100.7 100.1
Feb. 2016 99.8 99.8
Mar. 2016 98.8 99.6
Apr. 2016 99 99.4
May 2016 100.2 99.3
June 2016 99.7 99.4
July 2016 99.2 99.5
Aug. 2016 99.8 99.7
Sep. 2016 99.8 99.8
Oct. 2016 100.7 100
Nov. 2016 100.3 100.2
Dec. 2016 98.1 100.4
Jan. 2017 100 100.6
Feb. 2017 101 100.9
Mar. 2017 101.1 101.3
Apr. 2017 101.3 101.6
May 2017 102.8 101.8
June 2017 102.3 101.8
July 2017 102.7 101.8
Aug. 2017 102.1 101.8
Sep. 2017 101.3 101.8
Oct. 2017 101.1 101.9
Nov. 2017 103.2 101.9
Dec. 2017 102.2 102.1
Jan. 2018 101.8 102.2
Feb. 2018 102 102.3
Mar. 2018 102.4 102.5
Apr. 2018 103 102.7

Working-day adjusted

Working-day adjusted figures show that retail sales increased by 1.4 per cent in the period February to April 2018 compared to the same period in 2017.

Indices for February have been revised

The unadjusted value index for February 2018 has been revised due to an error relating to the preparation of turnover data from a convenience chain. This error led to the turnover used in the calculations being lower than what the chain had reported. The value index for February has therefore been adjusted upwards. The revision also impacts on the unadjusted volume index and seasonally-adjusted figures for value and volume.

Seasonally-adjusted figures for March and April are more uncertain

Due to Easter, it is difficult to compare the sales index for March and April with the corresponding months in 2017. The seasonally-adjusted index takes the Easter holidays in March or April into account, but it is difficult to correct for Easter shopping. Therefore, the seasonally-adjusted index for April is more uncertain than the seasonally-adjusted indices for other months.

Contact