Food store sales volumes in UK fell by 1.8% in September this year. Credit: Jeremy Smith / Pixabay.

Retail sales volumes in the UK decreased by 1.4% last month, according to data from the country’s Office for National Statistics (ONS).

Sales volume for September were 1.3% lower than their pre-coronavirus (Covid-19) levels in February 2020.

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In the three months to September, sales volumes in the UK fell by 2.0% compared with the previous three months.

During the month, sales volumes for food stores dropped by 1.8% and were below pre-coronavirus levels by 3.2%.

In a statement, the ONS said: “While retailers continue to mention the effect of rising prices and the cost of living on sales volumes, data for September 2022 are also affected by the bank holiday for the State Funeral of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, when many retailers closed.

“Food sales volumes have followed a downward trend since summer 2021 following the lifting of restrictions on hospitality.

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“In recent months, supermarkets have highlighted that they are seeing a decline in volumes sold because of increased food prices and cost of living impacts.”

Sales volumes for non-food stores fell by 0.6% in September and were 2.7% below pre-coronavirus levels.

Household goods stores such as furniture stores recorded a 1.5% drop in sales volumes during the month, while other non-food stores, such as jewellery stores, registered a monthly fall in sales volumes of 0.7%.

Sales volumes for clothing stores increased by 0.1% in September, while department store sales declined by 0.6%.

Non-store retailing, which consists of mostly online retailers, also declined by 3.0% last month, but was 18.% higher than February 2020 levels.

In addition, the proportion of retail sales in digital space was 26.4% in September.

Last month, the ONS reported that retail sales volumes in the UK increased by 1.6% in August following a 0.4% growth in July.

The country’s total retail sales volume was 0.5% higher than in February 2020.