UK retail sales growth slows to 1.3% in September
Consumers show caution ahead of the Budget, with food sales rising but fashion lagging.
AI-assisted coverage comparison, editor-supervised · How this was made
UK retail sales growth slows to 1.3% in September
Photograph: City AM (embedded from source)
What this story says
- Total UK retail sales rose 1.3% in September, down from 2.3% growth in September 2025.
- Food sales increased by 2.5%, but non-food sales saw only a 0.3% rise.
- Health and beauty sales performed strongly, boosted by Pokemon anniversary products.
- Retailers are concerned about potential tax increases and business rates ahead of the Budget.
Who covered it
Percentages are shares of the 6 outlets carrying a published leaning rating. 2 of the 8 outlets we know ran this story carry no rating and are not counted in them. Coverage measured .
Trust
60/100
Craft
70/100
Hype
20/100
8 sources · methodology
Thin on the right so far
None of the 6 outlets with a published leaning rating that ran this story are rated right.
This story is still being watched, so it is a count and not yet a finding. Coverage keeps arriving for hours after an event, and a side that has published nothing this morning may publish by tonight. If it is still true when we stop checking, we will say so plainly.
Total retail sales in the UK increased by 1.3% year-on-year in September. This growth rate is lower than the 2.3% recorded in September of the previous year. Food sales contributed to the overall rise, growing by 2.5%, while non-food sales saw a more modest increase of 0.3%.
The health and beauty sector experienced its best month of the year, partly due to products released for Pokemon's 30th anniversary. In contrast, fashion sales were weak, a situation attributed by analysts to prolonged warm weather that delayed the seasonal shift to autumn clothing.
Consumers are reportedly becoming more selective in their spending and are concerned about the potential financial impact of the upcoming Budget. Retail industry representatives have called on the Chancellor to avoid introducing a warehouse tax and to exempt high street businesses from the highest business rates multiplier.
Disagreement on sales growth figures
The British Retail Consortium (BRC) and KPMG reported that total UK retail sales increased by 1.3% year-on-year in September, a decrease from 2.3% growth in September 2025. Reuters and WTVB digests stated that much of consumers' extra outlay went on fuel, while warm weather helped pubs but hurt clothing sales. The Independent (US) and Evening Standard digests also reported the 1.3% year-on-year increase, noting it was a fall from 2.3% growth last September and below the 12-month average growth of 1.5%.
Omissions
None of the right-rated outlets ran this story. The digests from Reuters and WTVB did not mention the specific figures for food sales growth or non-food sales growth, nor did they detail the performance of the health and beauty or fashion sectors. They also did not include the specific calls from retailers regarding a warehouse tax or business rates exemptions.
Still developing. We have re-checked which outlets are covering this 5 times, most recently on 13 Oct 2026, 09:00, and will add the sides that appear.
How other outlets pictured it
Which photograph to run is each newsroom’s own choice. The leaning beside a name is that outlet’s published rating, not a claim that the pictures divide along it. Every picture is shown from the outlet’s own server and links to the article it ran in.
Non-food sales in September were flat, according to new figures (PA) (PA Wire)
The Independent (US) — embedded from source
How each side covered it
Our own reading of the reporting listed below, written from the outlets’ articles rather than quoted from them. The reasoning is set out on our methodology page.
Left
2 rated outlets
- The left-rated reports highlighted the overall slowdown in retail sales growth, noting the 1.3% year-on-year increase in September was a fall from 2.3% in the previous year. They also reported on the specific growth figures for food (2.5%) and non-food (0.3%) sales. Both The Independent (US) and The Independent reports mentioned that health and beauty sales performed strongly, boosted by Pokemon anniversary products. They also noted that clothing and footwear sales were weak due to unseasonably warm weather. The BRC chief executive Helen Dickinson was quoted expressing concern that the Chancellor cannot ease the cost of living while imposing more costs on retailers. The reports also included figures from Barclays showing card spending rose 2% year-on-year in September and that confidence in household finances climbed to a seven-month high, though many were concerned about the Budget's impact.
Centre
4 rated outlets
- The centre-rated reports focused on the "sluggish" nature of retail sales growth in September, with City AM quoting the BRC and KPMG figures of a 1.3% year-on-year increase, down from 2.3% in September 2025. They noted that food sales grew by 2.5% and non-food sales by 0.3%. The strong performance of health and beauty sales, aided by Pokemon anniversary products, was also mentioned. Fashion sales were identified as a drag on growth due to warm weather. The reports highlighted retailers' calls to the Chancellor to avoid a warehouse tax and exempt high street businesses from the highest business rates multiplier. Quotes from Linda Ellet of KPMG described consumers as "increasingly selective" and engaged in a "battle for share of wallet." Sarah Bradbury of IGD noted that pre-Budget tax speculation was weighing on shoppers' minds. Reuters and WTVB digests mentioned that consumers kept a lid on spending, with much of their outlay going on fuel, while warm weather helped pubs but hurt clothing sales.
Right
0 rated outlets
No outlet rated right has run this story so far. We are still checking, and will say plainly if that does not change.
Questions about this coverage
- How did the left and right cover UK retail sales growth slows to 1.3% in September?
- Of the 6 outlets on this story carrying a published leaning rating, 33% are rated left, 67% are rated centre, 0% are rated right. Those percentages are shares of the rated outlets, not of every outlet that ran it, which was 8. The sections above set out what each side emphasised, in its own terms.
- Is UK retail sales growth slows to 1.3% in September left or right?
- Too few of the outlets on this story carry a published leaning rating to say. 6 of them do, and this site does not characterise a field under 12: at that size one newsroom filing moves the share by ten points. The percentages above are the count as it stands.
- Is the coverage of UK retail sales growth slows to 1.3% in September biased?
- UK retail sales growth slows to 1.3% in September is one event reported by 8 outlets, and this page does not rate the story as biased or unbiased. What it publishes is the spread: which outlets ran it, where named rating organisations place each of them on the spectrum, and what each side chose to lead with. A leaning rating describes an outlet's record over time, not this article, and the two should not be run together.
- Which side is not reporting UK retail sales growth slows to 1.3% in September?
- When we first saw this story, outlets rated right had barely covered it. Coverage accretes for hours after an event, so that is where to look rather than a verdict — the split above is the current count, and it is the one to read.
- Which outlets covered UK retail sales growth slows to 1.3% in September?
- 8 that we know of, every one of them listed further up this page with a link to its own report and to what we hold on the publisher. Nothing here is a summary of somebody else's summary: the outlets are named so the original reporting can be read.
- How much did UK retail sales grow in September?
- Total UK retail sales increased by 1.3% year-on-year in September. This represents a slowdown compared to the 2.3% growth recorded in September of the previous year.
- Which sectors performed well and which did not?
- Food sales grew by 2.5%, contributing to the overall increase. Health and beauty sales saw their strongest month of the year, boosted by Pokemon anniversary products. However, fashion sales were weak, partly due to prolonged warm weather delaying the switch to autumn wardrobes.
- What are retailers asking the Chancellor to do?
- Retailers are urging the Chancellor to avoid a warehouse tax and to exempt high street businesses from the highest business rates multiplier. They are concerned that additional costs could push up prices and hinder investment and job creation.
- What are consumers concerned about?
- Consumers are reportedly becoming increasingly selective with their spending and are concerned about the potential impact of the upcoming Budget on their household finances. Speculation about pre-Budget tax increases is weighing on shoppers' minds.
Read it at the source
8 outlets, grouped by the leaning a published rating gives them. Every headline links to the original; an underlined outlet name opens our profile of that publisher.
Left
2- Retail sales sluggish as consumers exercise spending caution ahead of Budget (opens The Independent (US) in a new tab)
The Independent (US) — is The Independent (US) biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Retail sales sluggish as consumers exercise spending caution ahead of Budget (opens The Independent in a new tab)
The Independent — is The Independent biased? Our profile of this outlet
Centre
4- UK shoppers stay cautious as fuel costs bite, surveys show (opens Reuters in a new tab)
- UK shoppers stay cautious as fuel costs bite, surveys show (opens WTVB in a new tab)
- Retail sales sluggish as consumers exercise spending caution ahead of Budget (opens Evening Standard in a new tab)
Evening Standard — is Evening Standard biased? Our profile of this outlet
- Retail sales ‘sluggish’ as shoppers feel cautious ahead of Budget (opens City AM in a new tab)
Right
0No outlet in this group ran the story.
Not rated
2- Sluggish sales as shoppers look for Budget boost - Big Furniture Group (opens bigfurnituregroup.com in a new tab)
bigfurnituregroup.com
- Retail sales sluggish as consumers exercise spending caution ahead of Budget (opens Western Morning News in a new tab)
Western Morning News — is Western Morning News biased? Our profile of this outlet
How did this read?
About the coverage, not about the story. We do not ask whether you agree with what happened — we have no honest use for that answer.
