- By Tom Espiner
- Business reporter, BBC News
Image supply, Getty Images
Retail sales fell greater than anticipated in September as consumers held again shopping for autumn clothes amid unseasonably heat weather, official figures present.
Consumers additionally struggled with value of residing pressures, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) stated.
Sales volumes fell 0.9% in the month, the ONS said, whereas economists had predicted a 0.2% fall.
Grant Fitzner, the ONS chief economist, stated sales “fell notably” in September as the fast tempo of value rises put consumers off, “particularly for sales of non-essential goods”.
“It was a poor month for outfitters as the nice and cozy autumnal situations lowered sales of colder weather gear.
“However, September’s unseasonable heat did assist drive up meals sales somewhat,” he stated.
Mr Fitzner added that gasoline sales rebounded from a fall in August.
One scientist described the nice and cozy weather, which in the UK included a heatwave at first of the month, as “completely gobsmackingly bananas”.
The weather contributed to a 1.9% fall in commerce at non-food shops.
Clothing and department shops each noticed a 1.6% decline in the month, as sales of recent autumn traces together with coats, jackets and knitwear, have been hit by the weather.
People additionally held again from shopping for costly objects equivalent to jewelry and watches, and likewise furnishings and lighting, as a consequence of cost-of-living pressures, the ONS stated.
Helen Dickinson, chief govt of the British Retail Consortium, stated that with the festive season approaching, “retailers are hopeful that the easing inflation we now have seen in current months will increase shopper confidence”.
She added that outlets would convey down costs “wherever they’ll”, however this is able to be restricted by the anticipated hike to enterprise charges in April.
Danni Hewson, head of economic evaluation at AJ Bell, stated “each retailer might be absolutely targeted on the festive season”.
“The subsequent three months are a very powerful of the 12 months for the sector, the time when folks splash out on items for family and friends, so the truth that customers tightened their belts in September will undoubtedly be trigger for concern,” she stated.
Although inflation has been easing, “everyone seems to be acutely conscious that it doesn’t suggest costs are falling too, and many individuals may need had chunky pay will increase however that does not imply wallets are all of a sudden bulging,” she added.