Wet weather keeps shoppers at home - CBI
By Abigail Townsend
Date: Tuesday 24 Feb 2026
(Sharecast News) - UK retail sales tumbled in February, an industry survey showed on Tuesday, as wet weather kept shoppers at home.
According the latest distributive trades Survey from the Confederation of British Industry, the retail sales volumes balance for the year to February was -43, a sharp deterioration on January's -17.
Sales for the time of year were also judged to be poor, at -16, little changed on January's similarly downbeat balance of -15.
In contrast, online retail sales volumes grew at the fastest pace since April 2021, with a balance of 43.
A balance is the weighted difference between respondents reporting a increase and those reporting a decrease.
However, while sentiment across the sector remained supressed, at -34, retailers expected conditions to improve modestly next month. Sales volumes were forecast to decline at a slower rate, with a balance of -17, and were expected to fall short of seasonal norms to a lesser degree, at -9.
Martin Sartorius, the CBI's lead economist, said: "Retail sales volumes fell at a sharp pace in the year to February, with some firms reporting that the wet weather discouraged shoppers from visiting stores.
"Soft demand conditions and elevated costs have continued to feed through to gloomy sentiment in the retail and broader distribution sector, prompting may firms to scale back investment plans and headcount.
"The Spring forecast represents an important milestone for the government to build momentum behind its growth mission. Firms will be looking for the chancellor to set out how the government plans to mitigate the impact of rising employment costs in the distribution sector."
Rachel Reeves is due to deliver her Spring statement next Tuesday.
The February distributive trades survey was conducted between 27 January and 12 February, with 66 retailers, 110 wholesalers and 17 motor traders responding.
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