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Retail sales rebounded sharply in January as concerns over the Omicron Covid variant and associated restrictions eased.
The Office of National Statistics found that retail sales volumes rose by 1.9% in January 2022 following a plunge of 4% in December 2021 (which has been revised down from a fall of 3.7%).
Sales volumes were 3.6% above their pre-coronavirus February 2020 levels.
Notably, non-food stores sales volumes rose by 3.4% in January 2022 as home improvement sales volumes picked up with increased sales in household goods and garden centres. However, non-food sales volumes still remain 1.1% below their February 2020 levels.
Automotive fuel sales volumes also rose by 4.1% in January 2022 following a fall of 5% in December when increased home working and lower retail footfall reduced travel. Sales volumes in the category are now were 3.3% below their February 2020 levels.
However, food store sales volumes in January 2022 fell below pre-coronavirus levels for the first time as sales fell 2.3% and were 0.8% below where they were in February 2020.
Food sales volumes…
