UK non-food retail sales, including clothing saw a small increase of 0.6% year-on-year in March 2025 despite a dip in consumer confidence due to rising household costs and geopolitical uncertainty.

Total UK retail sales increased 1.1% year-on-year in March, but this was lower than the 3.5% increase seen in the same month the previous year, according to the British Retail Consortium (BRC)-KPMG Retail Sales Monitor.

It explained the higher increase in March 2024 was due to an early spring and Mother’s Day celebrations.

This figure falls short of the three-month average growth of 1.6% but surpasses the 12-month average growth of 0.6%.

The survey noted that the shift in Easter’s occurrence from March last year to April this year has an impact on annual sales comparisons. This temporal variation leads to a seemingly inflated sales performance in April, while March figures may appear diminished as a consequence.

During the five weeks to 5 April 2025, UK non-food retail sales, including clothing were up 0.6% year-on-year, which is an improvement over the 0.4% decline seen in March of the previous year.

However, this is still below the three-month average growth of 1.1% and better than the 12-month average decline of 0.8%.

British Retail Consortium chief executive Helen Dickinson said: “Despite a challenging global geopolitical landscape, the small increase in both food and non-food sales masked signs of underlying strengthening of demand given March 2025’s comparison with last year’s early Easter. 

“The improving weather made for a particularly strong final week, with gardening and DIY equipment flying off the shelves. Jewellery and beauty products were helped by Mother’s Day, though sales of bigger ticket items like furniture remained weak. Retailers are making final preparations for Easter, with food expected to be the big winner next month.”

She added: “Since the start of April, retailers have had to contend with £5bn ($6.63bn) of new government-imposed costs as a result of increases to the National Living Wage and National Insurance.”

Physical store non-food sales, including clothing saw a minor decrease of 0.1% year-on-year in March, contrasting with a slight increase of 0.1% in March of the prior year. These figures are lower than the three-month average growth of 0.6% but show improvement over the 12-month average decline of 1.7%.

Online non-Food sales, including clothing also reported a year-on-year rise of 1.8% for March, recovering from a decline of 1.4% in March of last year. This rate is slightly below the three-month average growth of 1.9%, yet it exceeds the 12-month average growth of 0.9%.

The online penetration rate for non-food items ascended to 37.1% in March from 36.6% in the same month last year, surpassing the 12-month average rate of 36.8%.

During the month, food sales showed a year-on-year increase of 1.6%, which does not compare favourably with the robust growth of 8.3% seen in March last year and is also below both the three-month and 12-month average growth rates.

KPMG UK consumer, retail and leisure head Linda Ellett said: “As spring weather arrived, house and garden related purchases and gifts for Mother’s Day drove retail sales growth in March.”

“But with non-food sales only climbing around 1% on average, competition means there are some retailers really struggling whilst others win, especially online. Retailers will be pushing for higher growth rates as we move toward summer and the holiday season, particularly as they are now paying higher wage costs and facing volatility and potential impact on their supply chains due to global tariffs.”

Recent data from BRC– NielsenIQ showed that the UK clothing and footwear sector experienced double-digit deflation in March due to subdued consumer demand, however retailers refrained from increasing prices despite ongoing cost pressures.