This September was the weakest for total retail sales in seven years, excluding the pandemic period.
Total like-for-like sales in the discretionary retail categories fell -0.3%, compared with growth of +3.1% in September 2025, according to data from accountancy and business advisory firm BDO.
Online sales performed “particularly poorly”, the report said, with a fall of -1.1% compared to growth of +3.1% last September. It was the weakest September ever recorded outside of the pandemic.
Retailers usually benefit from a seasonal boost in September due to back-to-school spending and shoppers refreshing their wardrobes for autumn, but neither trend provided an uplift this year.
Sophie Michael, head of retail and wholesale at BDO, said:
“These results are deeply concerning and come at the worst possible time for retailers. September should act as a springboard into the crucial final months of the year, but instead we’re seeing consumers rein in discretionary spending. The fact that even online sales have fallen shows just how difficult the trading environment is.
“Retailers are facing pressure on multiple fronts. Costs of employment, supply chain and energy continue to rise and many will be apprehensive about further business rate rises announced in the Budget.
“Households are facing another winter of greater financial strain as energy bills bite and look set to rise further. Extreme weather across the globe is also expected to place further pressure on food prices in the months ahead, inevitably taking a larger proportion of consumer spend.
“The retail sector is entering the most important trading period of the year from an exceptionally fragile position. Retailers desperately need consumers to loosen the purse strings this Christmas but are having to make difficult decisions on stock levels, staffing and investment without visibility of whether consumer demand will materialise. Recent CBI data reports that retailers are cutting order volumes at the fastest rate since its Distributive Trades Survey began in 1983.
“While businesses will need to continue to manage margins incredibly carefully, there is only so much they can absorb before passing costs onto the consumer.
“The Autumn Budget presents a critical opportunity for the government to support this struggling sector. Retailers urgently need measures that ease the growing cost burden and give businesses the confidence to invest. Without meaningful support, there is a real risk that more retailers simply won’t be able to withstand the challenges ahead.”
