UK online retail spending rose 10.5% year on year in March as overall retail sales remained firm, according to figures cited by Parcelhero.

The delivery and retail analysis company said online sales values rose 2.4% from February, while total retail sales volumes increased 0.7% month on month. Over the first quarter, retail sales volumes were up 1.6% from the previous quarter.

The figures suggest a resilient consumer market at a time when there were concerns conflict involving Iran could weigh on household confidence and demand. The latest Office for National Statistics retail sales bulletin showed spending held up better than expected.

Some store-based categories also performed well. Textile, clothing and footwear retailers recorded a 1.2% rise in sales volumes as spring ranges reached shops.

David Jinks, head of consumer research at Parcelhero, said some of March’s strength was driven by fuel buying rather than broader discretionary spending.

“While there were understandable concerns that the Iran conflict, which started at the end of February, would impact consumer spending, ironically it helped drive up March’s result due to people stockpiling petrol. With automotive fuel sales stripped from the figures, March’s sales volumes were actually only 0.2% up overall.”

“What is in no doubt is that eCommerce did well. In terms of sales volumes, non-store retailers, the ONS category that is predominantly online sellers, reported volumes up 1.4% in March and 3.7% in Q1. March non-store sales volumes reached their highest level since February 2022.”

“The most spectacular results of all were for eCommerce sales values, the amount spent online. Online sales values rose by 2.4% in March over February and by 10.5% year on year, comparing March 2026 with March 2025.”

“Of course, monthly retail figures are notoriously volatile, which is why the ONS is increasingly concentrating on three-month figures. Q1 online sales values rose 2.5% compared with the previous quarter and, saving the best figures till last, 11.7% year on year against Q1 2025.”

“We’ll end with a snapshot of retail’s overall health. Total spend, the sum of in-store and online sales, rose 1.8% in March and online sales claimed 28.7% of the entire retail market. It will be fascinating to see if this surprisingly strong set of retail results holds up in April as the Iran conflict drags on.”

“Ultimately, however fickle or strong key retail periods of the year prove to be, stores with both a High Street and online offering are the most protected against unexpected events. Parcelhero’s new report, ‘2030: The High Street Fights Back?’, has just been launched as the sequel to its 2016 publication, ‘2030: The Death of the High Street’. The update examines the impact of eCommerce and events such as the pandemic on the High Street. It concludes that the High Street may not have reached a dead end by 2030 but, in this new age of retail, it will have arrived at its biggest crossroads,” Jinks said.

Online share

Beyond the monthly rise, the quarterly numbers suggest internet shopping continued to take a larger share of household spending. Online sales accounted for 28.7% of the total retail market in March.

That matters for retailers balancing store estates with digital operations. The data suggests consumers continued to direct a substantial share of spending online even as physical categories such as clothing improved.

The non-store category, used by the ONS to capture predominantly online sellers, reported sales volumes up 1.4% in March and 3.7% across the first quarter. March marked the highest level for non-store sales volumes since February 2022.

Mixed picture

The broader retail picture was less dramatic once fuel was excluded. Underlying sales volumes would have shown only a 0.2% monthly rise without the boost from automotive fuel purchases.

That highlights the tension within the numbers. Headline retail growth remained positive, but part of the increase appears to have come from precautionary buying linked to geopolitical uncertainty rather than a broad-based surge in discretionary consumer demand.

Even so, online spending values outpaced the rest of the market. First-quarter online sales values rose 2.5% from the previous quarter and were 11.7% higher than the same period a year earlier.

The contrast between sales values and sales volumes is also notable. Higher values can reflect consumers buying more items, spending more per purchase, or changes in product mix, while volume figures track the amount bought more directly.

For retailers, the data suggests digital channels remained a source of growth during a period of external uncertainty. It also underlines the uneven nature of consumer spending, with some sectors benefiting from seasonal demand and others from short-term reactions to international events.

March’s results combined several themes at once: a resilient headline retail market, a stronger showing for online spending, and a more modest underlying picture once fuel effects are removed. Online sales claimed 28.7% of the retail market.

Women in Collaboration is holding a finance leadership gathering in London for senior female finance executives, focused on funding pressure, AI adoption and finance transformation.

More than 100 women in roles including Chief Financial Officer, Finance Director, FP&A and finance transformation leadership are expected to attend the closed-door session at Oracle NetSuite’s Helicon building in Moorgate.

The programme centres on the pressures finance teams face as leaders balance financial control with growth planning, board expectations, tighter reporting timetables and greater regulatory scrutiny.

Sessions will examine how finance leaders manage constrained funding environments, address fragmented systems and improve confidence in reporting and audit preparation. A separate breakout session will explore the use of AI and data within ERP systems, while another panel will discuss changes in finance technology.

One keynote interview will feature Catherine Turner, Chief Executive Officer and Founder of SearchHive, discussing lessons from finance leadership and from building a technology business in a strained funding environment.

Women in Collaboration, formerly London Women’s Collaboration, is a cross-industry collective that brings together senior women’s networks across payments, fintech, automation and emerging technology. It was formed to encourage collaboration between communities that often operate separately and has previously run executive and policy-adjacent forums.

The gathering is being delivered by London Women Groups with Rsult, a NetSuite alliance partner, and backed by a wider group of industry networks including European Women in Payments Network, Women in Automation, Women in Open Banking and fintech community organisations.

Finance pressures

The agenda reflects the widening remit of senior finance executives, whose responsibilities increasingly extend beyond reporting and cost control into transformation, systems oversight and technology decisions.

One panel on funding pressures will explore how finance leaders can balance day-to-day stewardship with strategic growth and investment planning. The discussion will cover indicators to watch, common failure points and ways to make the case for finance functions under pressure.

Another session will focus on the risks created by disparate systems and weak data confidence. It will examine how finance departments can improve real-time reporting, strengthen audit readiness and reduce operational risk through better data architecture and integration.

A further panel on innovation in the office of finance is intended to move beyond broad claims about AI and focus instead on current tools and measurable efficiency gains.

The format will prioritise peer discussion over formal presentation, with structured networking designed to encourage exchanges between executives facing similar operational and strategic constraints.

Zhenya Winter, Co-founder of Women in Collaboration, outlined the rationale behind the agenda.

“The role of the CFO has expanded significantly, often without equivalent increases in time, resource or certainty,” Winter said.

She said the event would focus on practical examples rather than theory.

“This event is designed to give senior finance leaders practical perspectives on funding, data, systems and AI that is grounded in real experiences rather than theory,” Winter said.

AI and data

AI adoption and data integrity have become more prominent issues for finance functions as companies seek faster reporting, stronger controls and better visibility across operations.

The AI and data breakout is expected to centre on how an integrated ERP system with embedded AI may change forecasting, controls and operational visibility. That will sit alongside wider discussion of the challenge of maintaining confidence in financial data while modernising legacy systems.

Winter said those tensions are becoming more central to finance leadership.

“Finance leaders are increasingly expected to lead transformation while maintaining absolute confidence in the numbers,” she said.

“Hearing how peers are addressing these tensions, particularly around AI adoption and data integrity, is invaluable.”

The emphasis on peer exchange reflects a broader pattern in executive forums, where finance leaders often seek practical information from counterparts dealing with similar budget, staffing and systems constraints rather than general commentary on technology trends.

Winter described that peer-to-peer element as the main benefit for participants.

“For many CFOs, the most valuable insights come from peers facing similar constraints,” she said.

“Our goal is to create an environment where those conversations can happen openly and productively.”

The ongoing conflict in the Middle East between the US, Israel, and Iran has resulted in a recent spike in fuel prices.

Many airlines have felt the effects, and now Hertfordshire-based Ascend Airways has reportedly entered liquidation.

The UK company offered aircraft for other airline carriers, such as Tui Airways, Oman Air and Air Sierra Leone and operated at Southend Airport and Gatwick Airport.

UK airline Ascend Airways goes into liquidation

Ascend Airways is set to return its fleet of Boeing 737 Max 8s to lessors and surrender its air operator’s certificate (AOC), Flight Global reports.

The company was originally founded as Synergy Aviation as a small charter and management firm.

It was acquired by Avia Solutions Group in 2023 to serve as its primary UK-based operator.

It obtained its UK AOC two years ago and has been operating an all-737 Max 8 fleet.

Its inaugural commercial flight took place in April 2024, operating from London Southend Airport.

The ongoing Middle East conflict and the rise in fuel prices have resulted in a “challenging outlook” for the summer season, the carrier told Flight Global.

It said: “These external pressures have compounded the structural challenges of operating a UK AOC within the European [wet-lease] market.

“A lack of reciprocal wet-leasing rights for UK carriers, combined with a higher cost base, has made the UK certificate a more expensive and less agile option compared to EU AOCs.”

The airline describes its surrender of the AOC as “strategic” but said that it has met contractual obligations through the winter, or exited agreements in an “orderly” manner, and it is supporting employees ahead of its AOC return.

“By working closely with stakeholders, a managed wind-down of operations has been achieved to minimise disruption to customers, consumers and aircraft lessors,” it adds.

However, reports also suggest that the company has gone into liquidation, according to The Sun.

An insider said: “It’s gone bust today (April 28), we got the news this afternoon.

“We’ve all been given the letters that it’s all going into liquidation.”

They added: “It’s to do with the economy, we couldn’t get contracts, the UK is a lot more expensive than Europe.

“The fuel situation had a massive effect on it as well.”

Ascend Airways and Avia Solutions Group have been contacted for comment by Newsquest.

Several major airlines have already responded to this rise in fuel prices due to the conflict in the Middle East.

This has been done by increasing fares, adding or increasing fuel surcharges, and cutting flights.

UK airline Skybus announced previously that it had ceased all flights between Cornwall and London due to “the huge rise in the global cost of fuel” and “a significant drop in new passenger bookings”.

Ryanair CEO Michael O’Leary has also warned Brits to book their summer holidays “as quickly as you can” to avoid rising costs.

Airlines that have entered liquidation or administration in 2026 (so far)

Several airlines entered liquidation in 2025, according to the UK Civil Aviation Authority , including:

• Blue Islands Limited (UK) – November
• Air Kilroe Limited t/a Eastern Airways (UK) – November
• Play Airlines (Iceland) – September

Three airlines have entered administration or liquidation in 2026 (so far), resulting in the cancellation of more than 4,000 flights:

Airlines are not the only travel businesses affected, with four UK travel companies having also ceased trading in 2026, resulting in the cancellation of flights and holiday packages to destinations around the world.

The four UK travel companies that have closed down in 2026 (so far) are:

• Regen Central Ltd
• Gold Crest Holidays
• Asiara UK Ltd
• Simply Florida Travel Ltd

All four have ceased trading, according to Companies House, and have lost their Air Travel Organiser’s Licence (ATOL).

Have you been impacted by any flight cancellations or airfare price hikes caused by increased fuel prices? Let us know in the comments below.