UK retail sales fall in October amid pre-budget uncertainty

British retailers saw sales fall last month due to uncertainty over the autumn budget, official figures show.

Clothing stores had a particularly weak month, with industry data suggesting October’s mild weather may have prompted shoppers to delay purchasing warmer winter clothes.

Retail sales volumes, which measure the quantity purchased, fell by 0.7% in October, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said.

This comes after retailers saw growth of 0.1% in September. This figure has been revised downward from a previous estimate of 0.3%.

Hannah Finselbach, ONS principal statistician, said: “Retail sales fell in October after three months of growth.

“The decline was driven by a particularly poor month for clothing stores, but retailers across the board reported consumers reined in their spending ahead of the budget.

“However, looking at the broader trend, retail sales are increasing in both the quarterly and annual periods, although they remain below pre-pandemic levels.”

The figures show that sales volumes in all non-food stores fell by 1.4%, returning to decline after growth of 2.3% in the previous month.

Retailers suggested that “low consumer confidence and uncertainty surrounding the budget announcement” affected their sales.

Clothing stores were particularly weak in October, down 3.1% for the month.

The data showed that grocery stores saw their sales volumes fall by 0.6% for the month.

Jacqui Baker, head of retail at RSM UK, said: “This is a worrying golden start to the quarter which will not be good news for retailers given it is set to be the start of their most successful period. loaded.

“As the halfway point falls later this year and the weather is relatively mild, consumers have postponed the purchase of their winter coats and boots.

“This has made it difficult for retailers to shift inventory, especially as many paused spending to take advantage of Black Friday deals.”

It also comes amid warnings from retailers that they will face a £7 billion rise in costs due to a series of policy measures from the Chancellor’s Budget.

Retailers including Tesco, Sainsbury’s and Marks & Spencer signed a letter to Rachel Reeves warning that job losses were “inevitable” and prices would rise, due to a number of policy measures including an increase in companies’ national insurance contributions.