Retail sales volumes fell by 0.9% in September 2023, following a rise of 0.4% in August 2023, new figures from the Office for National Statistics show.
That’s worse than expected – economists had forecast a 0.2% monthly fall. On an annual basis, sales volumes were 1% lower than a year ago (although inflation meant that people actually spent 4.7% more, but got fewer items).The squeeze on household budgets hit spending, while demand for autumn clothing was weak due to warm weather in September.