Biggest drop in petrol purchases in six years hits retail sales in Great Britain

Motorists cutting back on petrol and fuel purchases at the steepest rate since the Covid pandemic in 2020 drove retail sales in Great Britain to their biggest monthly decline in a year.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said the overall volume of retail sales plunged by 1.3% in April compared with the previous month, the biggest contraction since May last year and worse than the -0.6% forecast.

Fuel purchases plunged more than 10% month on month, the biggest slide since November 2020, when monthly sales fell 14.8% as pandemic protocols put households into a second national lockdown.

“After strong growth last month, motor fuel sales fell in April, with evidence suggesting motorists were conserving fuel after stocking up in March,” said Grant Fitzner, the chief economist at the ONS. “These subdued fuel purchases contributed to a sizeable monthly fall for total retail sales in April.”

The ONS slightly revised down its initial estimate of retail sales growth in March from 0.7% to 0.6%.

That rise was driven by a 6.1% increase in fuel sales volumes – and a 12% rise in the value of fuel sales, the biggest monthly increase since November 2021 – as the Iran war prompted “panic at the pumps” and a rush to stock up amid the biggest jump in fuel prices for more than three years.

The ONS said that when excluding the impact of the dramatic fall in fuel purchases, total retail sales fell by 0.4% month on month.

Fitzner said there were “strong and sustained” sales at beauty product and computer and tech shops in April.

However, sales at retail stores fell by 0.4% versus March, with clothing stores taking the brunt as sales declined 2.4%. That was the lowest level since June last year, amid variable weather conditions and lower demand as shoppers worried about rising prices.

Jacqueline Windsor, the head of retail at PwC UK, said: “April 2026 will be remembered as the first month that the impact of the Middle East conflict first hit British consumers. We already saw consumer sentiment fall at its fastest rate for four years, and we now have evidence that this translated into shoppers buying less in stores.

“The question will be whether the downward momentum continues, or whether May’s better weather and the – perhaps temporarily – can encourage consumers back into stores as spring turns to summer.”