Despite a recent survey showing consumer confidence tumbling to an 11-month low, today’s ONS figures show retail spending actually grew by 1.7% in January. Shoppers may say they are worried about the state of the economy, but that didn’t stop them splashing out at the supermarket, says the home delivery expert Parcelhero.

Retailers were braced for some gloomy results from today’s Office for National Statistics (ONS) retail sales bulletin, following a survey released earlier this week showing consumer confidence in the state of the economy has tumbled to a net balance of -37. That was down three points from January and the lowest score in nearly a year.

However, strong High Street food sales in particular meant retail sales volumes (the amount we all bought) actually rose by 1.7% in January 2025 over December 2024. The home delivery expert Parcelhero says Brits may not be as gloomy as recent surveys seem to indicate and that we are prepared to spend on food and drink to cheer up the winter gloom.

Parcelhero’s Head of Consumer Research, David Jinks M.I.L.T., says: ‘In a survey released earlier this week by the British Retail Consortium, consumers reported that they were very worried by inflation and that their confidence levels were at their lowest since last spring.

‘However, when it came to actually spending money, it seems that they actually splashed the cash more in January than at any time in the last few months. Sales volumes grew by 1.7%, largely fuelled by a whopping 5.6% rise in food store sales. That was the biggest rise for this sector since March 2020 and 1% up on January 2024. Supermarkets, specialist food stores such as butchers and bakers, and alcohol and tobacco store sales all rose over the month. The total spend – the amount we all spent in-store and online – also rose by 2.6% over December.

‘As well as food stores, the other big winner in terms of volumes was online shopping. The sales volumes of “non-store retailers” (the majority of this category being online stores) rose 2.4%, partially rebounding from a -3.4% fall in December 2024. Retailers in this sector reported post-Christmas sales remaining strong.

‘All these results show that we Brits may not be as pessimistic about the state of our finances as we think we are! However, that’s where the good news partially stops. There were also some less rosy results hidden among today’s retail figures.

‘Even though non-store retailers’ volumes were up, the amount Brits actually spent online (known as “online spending values”) fell by -1.7%. That implies retailers were offering hefty discounts to tempt cautious internet shoppers. Even so, online sales values were up 0.8% year-on-year over January 2024.

‘As these results reveal, however, supermarkets and High Street food stores were the big winners. Consequently, the proportion of sales made online, as a slice of the overall retail sales cake, fell from 26.9% in December 2024 to 25.7% in January 2025.

‘Overall, today’s ONS retail results are more encouraging than many pundits predicted. Whether this month’s surprisingly high inflation rise further knocks public confidence and dents this mini-High Street recovery will be revealed in February’s ONS retail figures, released next month.

‘Ultimately, it’s those stores with a combined High Street and online offering that are most protected against unexpected events. Parcelhero’s influential report “2030: Death of the High Street” has been discussed in Parliament. It reveals that retailers must develop an omnichannel approach, embracing both online and physical store sales. Read the full report at: https://www.parcelhero.com/content/downloads/pdfs/high-street/deathofthehighstreetreport.pdf