British shoppers keep tight hold of purse strings in October

Retail sales growth cooled last month as UK consumers eased back following a buoyant summer of spending and as mild weather delayed the purchase of winter clothes.

Official figures yesterday showed that sales fell by 0.5 per cent compared with September while year-on-year growth eased to 2.2 per cent in October from 3.3 per cent the month before – marking the slowest pace since April.

Sales growth slowed to just 0.4 per cent over the three months to October, significantly lower than the high of 2.3 per cent seen in the three months to July, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

Rhian Murphy, head

of retail sales at the ONS, said: “Retail sales slowed after a buoyant summer with the mild autumn hitting winter clothes sales.

“Household goods sales also fell in October following two consecutive months of strong home improvements sales. Consumers chose to purchase goods from many stores’ websites as online sales continued to increase.”

Josie Dent, economist at the Centre for Economics and Business Research, said: “Retail sales for October grew by 2.2 per cent compared to last year, below expectations of 3 per cent.

“This is another blow to the economy on an already tumultuous day, as the fallout of the Prime Minister’s draft EU withdrawal agreement intensifies.” 0 CEBR economist Josie Dent said weaker growth was a blow