UK retail sales volumes fell 0.4% in September, ONS says

Retail sales volumes in Great Britain fell by 0.4% in September 2026, the Office for National Statistics said in a bulletin released on Oct. 23. The fall followed a 0.7% rise in August, revised up from a 0.5% rise in the previous bulletin, and a 0.4% fall in July, revised up from a 0.5% fall.

Over the three months to September, the quantity bought rose by 0.7% compared with the three months to June, and by 1.5% compared with the three months to September 2025, the ONS said. September volumes were 0.8% higher than September 2025. The agency said monthly growth is volatile and should be read with the three-month rate.

The bulletin said the quarterly rise came as fuel sales recovered from a weak second quarter, when retailers suggested motorists made fewer journeys and delayed filling tanks as prices rose. Food-store volumes rose on the quarter after supermarket gains in July and August. Retailers selling alcohol and other drinks reported high volumes from June through September, which they attributed to promotions, warm weather, and the World Cup. Those are the retailers’ explanations, as recorded by the ONS.

In September itself, supermarket volumes fell to slightly below the June level, partly because clothing sales were lower than usual, the ONS said. Non-store retailers, a group that is mostly online sellers plus stalls and markets, also fell after a strong August. Online clothing retailers told the ONS that autumn and winter ranges did not sell well because the weather was unseasonably warm. The ONS said the Met Office’s weather summaries reported that 2026 had the joint-fourth warmest September on record.

Non-food store volumes, covering department stores, clothing, household goods and other non-food shops, fell 0.4% on the month, the ONS said. Clothing, footwear and sports-equipment stores fell, which retailers attributed to lower footfall and customers cutting back. Household-goods stores fell, largely on hardware. Automotive fuel volumes rose on the month even as fuel prices kept rising, after an August fall that retailers linked to motorists only partly filling their tanks.

The amount spent online fell 0.1% in the third quarter from the second, and rose 7.4% from the third quarter of 2025, the ONS said. Online sales values fell 0.4% in September, after a 3.0% rise in August, and were 6.8% higher than a year earlier. Total spending in stores and online rose 0.3% on the month, so the online share of sales eased from 28.9% in August to 28.8% in September.

For September, the Retail Sales Index response rate was 59.1% of forms, 0.3 percentage points below the average of the past 12 months, covering 92.4% of sample turnover, 5.1 percentage points above that average, the ONS said. The next retail sales bulletin is due on Nov. 20. The ONS also said a consultation on release times for market-sensitive statistics, including retail sales, closes on Friday, Oct. 30.