Retail sales fall as Brexit and bumper summer see shoppers tighten belts

● Sales down by 0.8 per cent compared with August, dragged by food, ONS finds

Retail sales fell in September as shoppers cut back their spending on food after a bumper summer, according to new figures from the Office for National Statistics.

Analysts flagged stifled consumer confidence, as sales fell 0.8 per cent compared with August, mainly due to a drop of 1.5 per cent in food stores – the largest decline since October 2015.

Sales still held up in the three monthstoseptember,increasing 1.2 per cent on the previous quarter, largely as a result of strong growth in watches and jewellery stores, as well as online retailers.

September’s online sales as a proportion of all retailing dipped to 17.8 per cent, from 18 per cent in August, yet food and clothing stores both reported record proportions of internet retail at 5.8 per cent and 18.2 per cent respectively. Sales were up 3 per cent on the same time last year but the figure fell short of economists’ forecasts of a 3.6 per cent rise.

ONS head of retail sales Rhian Murphy said: “Retail continued to grow in the three months to September with jewellery shops and online stores seeing particularly strong sales.

“This was despite a stark slowdown in food sales in September following a bumper summer.”

Ben Brettell, senior economist at Hargreaves Lansdown, said: “It looks like consumer spending – along with the weather – peaked in early summer and has been declining ever since.

“Where we go from here is highly uncertain. Brexit is hitting consumer confidence hard, but on the plus side, wage growth has hit a decade high while inflation is falling.

“So consumers look likely to have more spending power – the issue is whether they choose to use it or keep their powder dry until more clarity over Brexit emerges.”

Ian Gilmartin, head of retail and wholesale at Barclays Corporate Banking, added: “It’s still tough out there for the UK’S retailers, so solid 3 per cent growth compared with last September is welcome news, despite being slightly below expectations.

“Although the dip in food sales from August is eyecatching, it was expected, given the exceptional performance achieved over the summer, and shouldn’t cause undue concern.

“Retail chief executives will be hoping to see some white smoke from Westminster and Brussels as soon as possible and for solid assurances that they will be able to maintain their existing supply chains and frictionless trading arrangements with EU partners and consumers.”