September saw a decline in UK retail sales as the warm weather reduced consumer demand for clothing

Due to the unusually mild weather, consumers put off purchasing autumn clothes in Britain in September, which coincided with broader pressures on the cost of living, according to government numbers released on Friday.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) reported that retail sales fell by 0.9% in the month after increasing by 0.4% in August. This was a greater drop than the 0.2% dip predicted by analysts in a Reuters poll.

The ONS ascribed the declines in clothing sales volumes and home goods store sales to persistent cost of living pressures.

Sales volumes decreased by 1.0% when compared to the same period last year, while total third-quarter sales, which had a shaky start because of July's abnormally rainy weather, decreased by 0.8%.

Due to manpower shortages following the COVID-19 epidemic and supply-chain issues, British families have experienced a cost-of-living squeeze during the past two years. This situation has been exacerbated by an increase in energy prices following Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Retail sales volumes increased in the middle of 2021 when stores in Britain were fully allowed to reopen following COVID-19 restrictions, but since then, sales have been falling and have been below pre-pandemic levels for the last year.

According to the ONS, the third-quarter retail sales were anticipated to reduce the gross domestic product's overall growth rate by 0.04 percentage points.

(Sources: investing.com, reuters.com)