Retail Sales

• About statistics
• Methodology & quality
• General methodology
• Specific methodology
• Commerce, Energy and Industry methodology
• Economy methodology
• Consumer Prices Index (CPI)
• Environmental Accounts
• GVA
• Index of Services
• Input-Output
• National Accounts Classifications
• Productivity guide
• Public Sector Statistics
• Retail Prices Index (RPI)
• Retail Sales
• Q&A brief: September 2003
• Revisions policies
• Labour Market methodology
• Natural and Built Environment methodology
• Population and Migration methodology
• Public Sector methodology
• Social and Welfare methodology
• Travel and Transport methodology
• Quality
• Methodology Advisory Committee
• GSS Methodology Conference
• Census methodology
• About ONS

Related links

Downloads

start of page content

Data collected in the Retail Sales Inquiry (RSI) relates to retail turnover for a specified four or five week period. The results are compiled using average weekly sales of the specified standard period. This ensures comparisons can be made between the four and five week standard periods.

Typically January and February are four week periods and March is five weeks - the four, four, five pattern being repeated in a similar way for the rest of the year. A day is 'lost' every year (two days in a leap year) and the reporting periods are brought back in line by adding an extra week, normally to January, every five or six years. Consequently January 2002 was a five week period. The last time this occurred was in January 1996.