UK retail sales slow in September as shoppers brace for the Budget

According to data from the British Retail Consortium and KPMG, UK retail sales expanded by 1.3% in September compared with the same month a year earlier, a slowdown from the 2.3% growth recorded the previous September and beneath the 12-month average of 1.5%. Food sales contributed a 2.5% rise, though this was weaker than the prior year's 4.3% gain. Non-food sales barely moved, up just 0.3%, while health and beauty recorded their best month of the year and toys performed well thanks to Pokemon’s 30th-anniversary launch.

Clothing and footwear suffered from unusually warm weather, though back-to-school purchases provided some lift. BRC chief executive Helen Dickinson cautioned that additional business-rate hikes could raise prices, curb high-street investment and threaten local jobs, while KPMG’s Linda Ellett noted shoppers are becoming more selective ahead of the Budget. Barclays data showed a modest 2% rise in card spending, driven largely by a 17.3% jump in fuel purchases.