September saw the slowest retail sales growth since January, when the UK was forced into lockdown due to Covid-19.
Like-for-like sales were 0.6% lower for September compared with the same month last year.
On a total basis, sales increased by 0.6 per cent against a growth of 5.6 per cent in September.
September is traditionally a good time of the year for UK retailing as it’s back to school month, however there the consumer confidence was hit by fuel shortages and wet weather.
The larger purchases, such as furniture and homeware were particularly impacted as people were less likely to venture out in their cars to collect goods.
When it came to non-food sales, online purchases were lower for the month as more people returned to high street stores.
“Retailers, farmers and manufacturers are already making preparations to ensure enough food and festive gifts move through the supply chain in time for Christmas.
Unfortunately, the lack of drivers is hindering these preparations and increasing costs, which will eventually be reflected in higher prices.
Looking ahead, Paul Martin UK head of retail at KPMG, says retailers will have to “work very hard” to ensure the right availability of the right product at the right price to satisfy the requirements of an ever more demanding customer’.
He highlighted that this is particularly crucial in the run up to Christmas with staffing pressures and supply chain issues potentially feeding into “limited availability of certain products and the spectre of price rises remains”.
Separate figures from Barclay card also show that consumer confidence waned in September due to the same factors.
The bank said its latest consumer spending data for September showed that consumers are starting to feel the impact of rising prices on their finances.
