Cost of living crisis: Retail sales tumble as UK customers 'buying less than before the pandemic'

High streets and supermarkets witnessed another sales drop last month, but the data was worse than predicted.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) revealed that UK retail sales volumes declined by 1.4 per cent last month, following a 1.7 per cent fall in August.

The drop was worse noticeably than expected, after a consensus of economists predicted retail sales would only fall 0.5 per cent for the month.

ONS director of economic statistics Darren Morgan said people trying to spend less and shops being closed during the Queen’s funeral contributed to the decline.

He said: ‘Retail sales continued to fall in September after a weak August, and consumers are now buying less than before the pandemic.

‘Drops were seen across all main areas of retailing, with falling sales in food stores making the largest contribution.

‘Retailers told us that the fall in September was partly because many stores were closed for the Queen’s funeral, but also because of continued price pressures leading consumers to be careful about spending.’

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The ONS food stores saw sales fall particularly sharply.

In September, food sales slide by 1.8 per cent in September, continuing a downward trend since summer last year when pandemic restrictions were eased on hospitality.

Government borrowing has also swelled to £20bn last month, due to surging inflation.

This has outpaced economist predictions of £17bn and the £14.8 billion estimated by the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) back in March.