UK retail sales volumes fell 0.4 percent in September as retailers said warm weather held back autumn clothing

Retail sales volumes in Great Britain fell 0.4 percent in September, the Office for National Statistics reported Friday, after a 0.7 percent rise in August that was revised up from 0.5 percent.

The quarter looked firmer. Volumes in the three months to September rose 0.7 percent on the previous three months and 1.5 percent on the same period of 2025, carried by fuel and food stores. September alone was 0.8 percent above a year earlier.

Clothing was the weak spot. Online clothing retailers told the statistics office that autumn and winter ranges sold poorly in unseasonably warm weather, and the bulletin cites Met Office records showing September 2026 as the joint fourth warmest on record. Supermarket volumes slipped to just below their June level, partly on weaker clothing sales. Non-food stores fell 0.4 percent, with clothing, footwear, sports equipment and hardware all lower.

Fuel went the other way. Automotive fuel volumes rose on the month even as prices kept rising, after an August dip that retailers put down to motorists only partly filling their tanks.

Online spending values fell 0.4 percent from August, when they had jumped 3.0 percent, but were 6.8 percent higher than in September 2025. The online share of all retail sales edged down to 28.8 percent from 28.9 percent.