UK online sales values rose 11.4% year on year in February, according to Office for National Statistics retail data highlighted by Parcelhero. Overall retail sales volumes increased 2.5% from a year earlier.

The figures point to a stronger month for consumer spending than the same period last year, with growth also visible in the latest three-month ONS measures.

Overall retail sales volumes for the three months to February were 3% higher than in the same period a year earlier. Over the same period, online spending values rose 12.1%, suggesting eCommerce remained a notable source of retail growth.

That annual picture contrasted with a weaker month-on-month reading. Compared with January, overall retail sales volumes fell 0.4% in February, while non-store retailing volumes – a category largely made up of online sales – slipped 0.5%.

Even so, the value of online spending edged higher every month. Online sales values rose 0.6% from January, indicating that although shoppers may have bought fewer goods online, they spent more overall.

The figures underline the mixed state of the consumer economy. Annual comparisons suggest households spent more freely than a year earlier, but the monthly decline in volumes points to weaker momentum after January.

Parcelhero also warned that the wider geopolitical backdrop could weigh on retail sentiment in the next set of figures.

David Jinks, Head of Consumer Research at Parcelhero, said the latest retail sales estimates for February offered “much to cheer”. Overall sales volumes rose 2.5% year on year, and the outlook for eCommerce was even stronger, with the amount Britons spent online up 11.4% compared with February 2025.

“Of course, monthly retail figures are notoriously volatile, which is why the ONS is increasingly concentrating on three-month figures. Here again, overall retail sales volumes were 3% higher for the three months to February 2026 than for the same period last year. Even more strikingly, online spending values rose 12.1% year on year when comparing the three months to February 2026 with the same period to February 2025,” said Jinks.

“However, the picture was more mixed when compared with the previous month. Overall retail sales volumes are estimated to have fallen 0.4% in February from January, with non-store retailing volumes – the category primarily made up of online sales – falling 0.5%. Encouragingly, though the amount of goods bought online in February may have slipped, online sales values – the amount of money spent – rose 0.6% from January, perhaps indicating shoppers were prepared to spend a little more on higher-value items once the January sales had finished,” he continued.

He highlighted that “retail in February 2026 was considerably healthier than in the same month last year”, but warned that broader geopolitical risks could overshadow recent gains. “The elephant in the room,” he said, is President Trump’s attack on Iran. With the US and Israel launching surprise air strikes on 28 February and the conflict widening since, he said the March retail estimates, due on 24 April, will provide an early indication of how consumer confidence has been affected.

“Ultimately, however fickle or strong key retail periods prove to be, stores with both a High Street and online offering are best protected against unexpected events. Parcelhero’s report ‘2030: Death of the High Street’, which has been discussed in Parliament, argues that retailers must develop an omnichannel approach, embracing both online and physical store sales,” said Jinks.

Mixed signals

The divergence between annual and monthly data is likely to draw attention from retailers trying to judge whether demand is strengthening or merely stabilising. Value growth can reflect shoppers buying more expensive items, paying higher prices, or a combination of both, while volume data gives a clearer measure of how much consumers actually purchased.

Non-store retailing remains an important indicator because it captures much of the UK’s online trade. A monthly fall in that category alongside a rise in online spending values suggests basket sizes or average selling prices may have increased even as transaction volumes softened.

Consumer mood

The reference to Iran highlights how quickly external shocks can alter the retail outlook. Rising geopolitical tensions can feed through to energy costs, transport prices and consumer confidence, all of which shape household spending decisions.

For retailers, that creates a difficult backdrop even after a stronger annual showing in February. Businesses with both shop and online operations may be better placed to absorb swings in demand between channels, particularly when consumer behaviour shifts suddenly.

The latest figures add to evidence that digital spending remains resilient even when broader retail performance is uneven. Online spending values outpaced total retail volume growth by a wide margin on both the year-on-year monthly and rolling three-month measures.

Whether that trend continues will depend on the next official readings on consumer activity and on whether households remain willing to spend amid a more uncertain international backdrop. For now, February offered retailers a firmer annual comparison, but it also exposed signs of fragility beneath the headline growth.

FutureEverything has closed after 31 years, bringing to an end one of Manchester’s early digital culture organisations.

Founded by Drew Hemment in 1995 as Futuresonic, the non-profit became known for connecting artists, technologists and public bodies around emerging digital technologies. Its work spanned early mobile and locative media, open data, smart cities and, later, artificial intelligence.

FutureEverything was closely tied to Manchester’s growth as a centre for digital business and research, and was at one stage described as one of the world’s top 10 idea festivals.

Long reach

Over three decades, the group developed projects that extended beyond the UK, from Manchester to cities including Singapore, Moscow and San Jose. It worked with organisations including the Singapore Government, the European Commission and Intel.

Among its best-known projects was Mobile Connections 2004, which it described as the world’s first major cultural event focused on mobile media. It also created Open Data Cities, one of Europe’s early open data initiatives, and GROW Observatory, which it described as the first citizens’ observatory operating at continental scale.

Its model centred on a festival-as-lab approach, using cultural events to test ideas and build longer-term programmes. That helped it move across the arts, research and public policy at a time when digital culture was still a specialist field.

In later years, the organisation increased its focus on AI. Under creative directors Irini Papadimitriou and Lucy Rose Sollitt, and executive director Chris Wright, it staged a series of international exhibitions on art and AI that reached 400,000 visitors, according to the organisation.

It also launched Nature Directed, a project intended to give nature legal decision-making power within the organisation. That initiative will continue after the closure.

Legacy work

A new archive and legacy site has been launched to document the organisation’s history and collect contributions from people in the technology and creative sectors. Hemment is also continuing related work through Doing AI Differently at The Alan Turing Institute, a global initiative that applies methods developed during FutureEverything’s run to AI development.

Hemment said the closure reflected both a shift in the place of digital culture and wider pressures on smaller organisations.

“FutureEverything was born when digital culture was a niche interest with a small international community of pioneering artists, technologists and institutions. Now, digital culture no longer exists as a discrete field – it’s everywhere, embedded in everything. The debates we championed, around AI, data, surveillance and climate, are now central to global discourse daily. In a way, it feels like the end of FutureEverything marks the moment a pioneering generation passes the baton to the mainstream it helped to create.

“The closure also reflects the structural precarity faced by small pioneering cultural organisations in a post-pandemic funding environment – influential far beyond their means,” said Drew Hemment, founder of FutureEverything.

The board said the organisation’s influence far exceeded its size. Its record includes support for artists and researchers whose work later fed into wider debates on technology, culture and society.

Annette Mees, chair of the board, pointed to that broader impact. “FutureEverything has had an outsized influence on digital culture, on Manchester, and on countless artists, technologists and communities around the world. We are proud of everything the team has achieved, and certain its legacy will continue to shape technological futures,” she said.

Arts Council England said the organisation had played an important role over three decades in connecting creative and research communities. That work helped establish new approaches to the relationship between art, technology and society.

Hemment said the organisation’s work would continue in other forms.

“I’m proud of the way FutureEverything’s team carried the organisation through its final chapter with dedication and care. Over three decades, it sparked major initiatives that continue to thrive, with people it nurtured going on to significant careers across the digital culture sector.

“FutureEverything has been the defining work of my life, and it belonged to everyone who shaped it. What we built together – the ideas, the community, the fields we helped open up – doesn’t close with the company. It carries forward into the future it helped to imagine,” he said.

Nexfibre has revealed plans for a major broadband upgrade with the multimillion investment in digital infrastructure in the area.

The wholesale full-fibre network provider acquired Netomnia earlier this year, and the deal will give Oxford residents faster access to full-fibre broadband.

This fibre network will be available to all internet service providers, ensuring local people have a wide choice of broadband services.

READ MORE: Asda responds as UK drivers hit with fuel station shortages

Following approval, homes and businesses connected to Virgin Media O2’s network will be upgraded to full-fibre connectivity.

Rajiv Datta, Chief Executive Officer of Nexfibre, said:  “We are committed to delivering high-quality connectivity to everyone across the country.

“Full-fibre broadband is a crucial driver of economic growth, and our investment in Oxford will help deliver better access to education, jobs, and opportunities that can transform lives and uplift entire communities.”

The transaction as a whole is said to be unlocking £3.5bn of international investment, providing a boost to the UK economy, as well as ensuring millions of network upgrades take place across the country.

READ MORE: IKEA issues statement on plans for new store in Oxfordshire

As part of its broader investment in the area, Nexfibre also partners with UK Youth to offer free full-fibre broadband to youth centres across the UK to help tackle digital poverty.

Access to quality full-fibre broadband and better connectivity is critical to boosting the prospects of disadvantaged young people and stoking economic growth.

Up to seven youth centres in Oxford could benefit from the partnership.

Nexfibre’s network currently covers more than 2.6 million premises across the UK, and the combined network’s full-fibre footprint is expected to reach around 8 million premises by the end of 2027.