UK retail sales slow as budget concerns curb spending

UK retail sales lost some momentum in September as wary consumers put off purchases and concentrated on the ￰0￱ about the government’s forthcoming budget were behind the slowdown, new figures from the British Retail Consortium (BRC) show. Overall, total retail sales increased 2.3% in September over the same month last year — after climbing by 3.1% in August and 2.5% in ￰1￱ at stores open for at least a year, excluding newly opened ones, also declined to 2% from 2.9%. Retailers say a mix of inflation, tax uncertainty, and unpredictable weather has put the brakes on spending. One-quarter of consumers are holding out as Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves gets set to unveil her first full budget in November, research ￰2￱ new administration is attempting to strike a balance between promoting growth and fulfilling green investment promises, while also carrying an increasingly heavy public debt ￰3￱ uncertainty is clearly having an impact on household activity, according to Helen Dickinson, Chief Executive of the ￰4￱ at food retailers rose modestly, driven more by inflation than ￰5￱ were increasingly trading down to cheaper brands or buying in smaller quantities, KPMG’s retail tracker said.

Non-food sales, including clothing and household goods, dropped steeply — roughly 0.7% in September compared with 1.8% the previous ￰6￱ warm weather also impacted demand for cold-weather items, such as coats and ￰7￱ had hoped to see earlier gains from autumn collections, but consumers continue to wait until it’s more seasonally appropriate before sprucing up their ￰8￱ prepare for tough ‘golden quarter’ Now retailers are entering into what is called the “golden quarter” — the all-important last three months of the year when profits are driven by Christmas ￰9￱ the outlook is ￰10￱ Lewis Partnership Plc has unveiled its largest-ever seasonal recruitment drive, taking on 13,700 temporary workers at its department stores, warehouses, and Waitrose ￰11￱ company is well-positioned to meet its full-year profit targets, Chairman Jason Tarry said, even after reporting a loss in the first half.

Likewise, the UK’s second-biggest grocer, J Sainsbury Plc, which owns Argos, is to recruit 19,000 temporary workers to cope with the holiday season ￰12￱ supermarket giant anticipates an explosion in online orders and in-store visits this November and December, but cautions that shoppers are likely to remain ￰13￱ Ellett, UK Head of Consumer, Retail and Leisure at KPMG, said spending remained highly targeted as shoppers remained ￰14￱ noted that retailers were relying on promotions and carefully planned product ranges to attract customers and boost sales in the lead-up to the Christmas ￰15￱ sales offered one bright spot, with a lift from the introduction of Apple’s new iPhone and Apple Watch models in ￰16￱ other discretionary categories, such as home decor and apparel, were order of magnitude slower.

Meanwhile, shop price inflation increased to 1.4% in September, up from 0.9% in August – its highest since February, according to BRC ￰17￱ import costs and energy prices continue to squeeze ￰18￱ concerns contribute to pressure on ￰19￱ are also dealing with potential tax ripple effects in Reeves’ November budget, beyond the impact on consumer ￰20￱ government is considering changes to business rates — the property tax paid by shops — that could disproportionately hit large ￰21￱ BRC has cautioned that introducing a new tax band for big retailers could lead to store closures and job losses, particularly among department store chains already struggling with high ￰22￱ businesses are especially ￰23￱ warn that a further rise in business rates would push them into ￰24￱ Federation of Small Businesses has called for the Treasury to freeze or cut the levy next fiscal year in an effort to help stop further decline on Britain’s high ￰25￱ analysts say the current slowdown illustrates a precarious balancing act for ￰26￱ increases could threaten to erode the already fragile consumer confidence, but postponing fiscal reforms may exacerbate Britain’s budget ￰27￱ up to Bybit and start trading with $30,050 in welcome gifts