By Maria Martinez 
 

Retail sales in the U.K. posted a modest increase in December due to the increase of sales before the Christmas period.

The volume of retail sales in the U.K. rose 0.3% in December from the previous month, data from the Office for National Statistics showed Friday. The increase missed expectations of economists polled by The Wall Street Journal, who predicted sales to increase by 1.5%.

During December, there was initially a period of eased restrictions early in the month, followed by tighter restrictions on nonessential retail in England, Scotland and Wales later in the month.

The overall level of sales in December was 2.7% above February's prepandemic levels and up 2.9% compared with the same month a year earlier.

Clothing stores reported strong monthly growth of 21.5%, rebounding from a large fall in November when they were closed because of coronavirus restrictions.

Food stores reported a monthly fall of 3.4% in December, partly attributed to a fall back from the 2.8% growth in November. In November, supermarkets benefited from the closure of the hospitality industries and other nonessential retail sectors in some parts of the country.

Total online retailing values increased by 46.1% in 2020 when compared with 2019, marking the highest annual growth reported since 2008, the statistics office said.

The reporting period for December data covers Nov. 29 to Jan. 2, following a period in November when there were more widespread and extensive restrictions to nonessential retail.

Write to Maria Martinez at maria.martinez@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

January 22, 2021 02:33 ET (07:33 GMT)

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