September retail sales ‘worst since December 2008’, Christmas outlook remains positive

UK retail sales in September were down 2.1% on a like-for-like basis compared with September 2013, when they had increased 0.7% on the preceding year. 

The new figures from the British Retail Consortium’s BRC-KPMG Retail Sales Monitor found in total, sales were down 0.8%, against a 2.4% rise in September 2014. This is the weakest performance since December 2008, excluding Easter distortions.

Clothing and footwear were the worst performing categories in September, reporting record declines since April 2012 and March 2013, respectively.

However, online sales of non-food products in the UK grew 8.2% in September, albeit at a slower rate than a year earlier, when the channel had grown 13.4%.

David McCorquodale, head of retail at KPMG, said: “The prolonged Indian summer wilted retail sales in September, leaving clothing retailers hot under the collar. Selling woolly jumpers in warm weather is a tough ask, even for the most talented of sales staff.

However, McCorquodale added a positive note: “One warm September doesn’t ruin a Christmas and retailers on the whole are on a firm footing as they enter the all-important final quarter. The winners will be those who have invested in their systems and carefully managed their stock levels to give themselves the best shot at a successful Christmas.”