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Retail sales in September up 2.7% vs prior year
Paul Martin, UK Head of Retail at KPMG, said:
“Retail sales continued to limp along, with growth up just 2.7% despite inflation falling in September.
Food and drink, and health and beauty continue to be the strongest performing categories on the high street, whilst a growing number of categories including clothing, fell into negative territory over September as the unseasonal warm weather delayed trips to the shops to stock up on winter wardrobe purchases. Online sales growth continued to fall, with just health, beauty and jewellery recording positive sales growth. September signals the 26th month of continuous online sales decline and retailers will be hoping for a strong Black Friday in order to turn the tide.
With the warmer weather delaying household heating being switched on, positive news around falling inflation and a hold on rising interest rates, consumers will hopefully be feeling more confident as thoughts turn to Christmas shopping.
After years of battling challenges, the resilience of the retail sector has been dented and we are starting to see the gap between the strongest and the weakest on the high street widen. The fight for Christmas shoppers will be fierce this year, with promotions likely to be earlier and abundant in a bid to loosen tight household purse strings. Consumers will continue to seek out good deals, with price driving purchasing decisions. This is likely to be one of the most important golden quarters that we have seen in years, as for some in the sector, it could very much determine their future.”
The BRC KPMG Retail sales monitor is one of the UK’s most timely, and accurate performance indicators for UK sales. Read the full report complete with sales data from the British Retail Consortium.
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