Leading retail association Bira has warned that independent high street shops are facing a "perfect storm" of declining in-store sales and rising costs, despite modest overall growth in the retail sector.

The latest BRC-KPMG Retail Sales Monitor figures for February 2025 show UK retail sales increased by 1.1% year-on-year (0.9% on a like-for-like basis). However, this headline figure masks significant challenges facing independent retailers.

While food sales grew by 2.3% (2.1% like-for-like), non-food sales remained flat at 0.0% (-0.1% like-for-like). Most concerning is the continued decline in non-food in-store sales, which fell by -1.0% (-1.3% like-for-like) compared to the same period last year.

Andrew Goodacre, CEO of Bira, which represents over 6,000 independent retail businesses across the UK, said: "There is some positivity in the overall retail figures, but we are very concerned by the continued decline of non-food sales in store. Independent retailers predominantly operate in the non-food sectors and are worried about sales, especially with costs set to rise next week. The 140% increase in business rates for smaller retailers announced in the budget will be a painful addition to the burgeoning cost base of running a shop."

The data shows online non-food sales increased by 1.9%, with online penetration rising to 36.4% compared to 35.8% in February 2024. This shift continues to challenge high street retailers who are simultaneously coping with increased operational costs.

Bira, which includes Retra (the trade association for independent electrical retailers), notes that computing and electronics were among the stronger performing categories online, which could benefit some specialist independent electrical retailers. However, the overall picture for store-based independents remains challenging.