Retail sales across the UK rose modestly in September, with food and other essential purchases carrying most of the increase while discretionary goods barely advanced. A separate measure of card spending also showed growth, but fuel accounted for much of the rise in essential outlay.
Total retail sales were 1.3% higher than a year earlier, up from 0.7% annual growth in August but below the 12-month average of 1.5%. The September comparison was also weaker than the 2.3% increase recorded a year earlier. These figures measure sales value, not the volume of goods bought, so they should not be read as evidence that shoppers purchased 1.3% more items.
Food sales rose 2.5% year on year, slower than the 4.3% increase a year earlier and below the 12-month average of 3.1%. Non-food sales increased by just 0.3%, close to flat. The contrast points to a market where spending continued, but growth was concentrated in everyday shopping rather than a broad-based recovery in discretionary purchases.
Some categories nevertheless performed better than the overall non-food figure. Health and beauty recorded its strongest month of the year so far, while toy sales were helped by products tied to Pokémon’s 30th anniversary. Clothing and footwear had a weak month. Unseasonably warm weather was reported as a factor, although back-to-school shopping provided a boost.
The results cover a period that ran from 30 August to 3 October. That timing includes the start of the autumn trading season, but the data alone cannot show whether purchases delayed by warm weather or cautious budgeting will return later in the year.
Fuel lifts essential spending
Card spending rose 2.0% year on year in September, easing from 2.1% growth in August. Essential spending increased 2.5%, with fuel spending up 17.3%. The rise in fuel was linked to record diesel prices. Non-essential spending edged up 1.8%, while bars, pubs and clubs recorded a 3.8% increase for a fourth consecutive month of growth.
The card-spending figures are a separate measure from the retail sales monitor. The former tracks spending on payment cards and its period ran from 22 August to 24 September; the latter covers a broader set of retailers and a different period. Their percentage changes should not be combined or treated as directly interchangeable.
Survey indicators offered a mixed picture of household sentiment. Confidence in personal finances reached a seven-month high of 67%, yet 68% of respondents said they were concerned about the effect of the coming Budget on their finances. Three in ten said they were cutting back on non-essential spending.
Taken together, September’s indicators suggest that consumer outlay remained positive but selective. Essentials, fuel and a handful of leisure and personal-care categories supported the totals, while most non-food retail showed little momentum. The figures do not establish whether consumers are responding to prices, weather or expectations about future household costs in any single way. They do show that headline growth masks sharply different conditions across categories.
For retailers, the run-up to the year-end trading period will test whether restrained demand is postponed or lost. September’s data provide no guarantee of a rebound: shoppers may continue to prioritise value and necessary purchases, and the forthcoming Budget remains a source of concern for many surveyed households.
