Online sales fall as cost of living bites

Online sales took a heavy hit last month, with shoppers reining in unnecessary purchases as the cost-of-living crisis started to bite, according to official figures.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said sales volumes fell 1.4% in March – although they remain 2.2% above pre-Covid levels of February 2020.

Online sales bore the brunt, dropping 7.9% in the month following on from a 6.9% fall in February.

There was also a decrease in fuel sales volumes of 3.8% as soaring petrol and diesel costs put motorists off making unnecessary journeys.

The only part of the retail landscape to see an increase in sales was in non-food stores, which were up 1.3%, driven by a 2.6% rise at household goods retailers including garden centres and DIY stores.

The ONS suggested the fall in online sales could be due to the end of lockdown restrictions and shoppers feeling confident returning to stores, when compared with December and January as the Omicron variant of coronavirus ran rampant.