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Retail sales slide as cost-of-living bites

Retail sales slide as cost-of-living bites
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Britain on Friday published retail sales data that added to its economic gloom and offered no respite for the government, which suffered fresh vote setbacks overnight.

Retail sales slid 0.9 per cent in September, the Office for National Statistics said in a statement.


"Retail sales fell notably in September, with retailers telling us that cost-of-living pressures are influencing consumers, particularly for sales of non-essential goods," added ONS chief economist Grant Fitzner.

"It was a poor month for clothing stores as the warm autumnal conditions reduced sales of colder weather gear," he added.

The often-volatile retail sales had grown 0.4 per cent in August.

Looking at the quarterly picture, sales volumes fell by 0.8 per cent in the three months to September 2023 when compared with the previous three months.

Food stores sales volumes rose by 0.2 per cent in September, following a rise of 1.4 per cent in August. However, volumes fell by 1.3 per cent in the three months to September from the previous three months, and when compared with their pre-pandemic February 2020 levels, food stores sales volumes were down 3.7 per cent.

Non-food stores sales volumes fell by 1.9 per cent, and online retail sales volumes by 2.2 per cent in September.

A separate survey showed consumer confidence plunging in Britain.

GfK's Consumer Confidence Index slumped nine points to minus 30 in October, the level seen in July last year.

"This sharp fall underlines that the cost-of-living crisis, and simply not having enough money to make ends meet, are still exerting acute pressure for many consumers," said Joe Staton, client strategy director at GfK.

Official data this week showed British annual inflation remaining elevated, prolonging the cost-of-living crisis and stoking fears that UK interest rates could stay higher for longer.

The Consumer Prices Index held at 6.7 per cent last month, the highest level in the G7 grouping of rich nations.

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A whopping ninety-one per cent of respondents to a survey conducted by the Federation of Independent Retailers (the Fed) called for more police patrols on streets, while a similar number - 90 per cent - said that shoplifters should be handed harsher sentences.

Seven out of 10 respondents (72 per cent) said their stores had experienced shoplifting, break ins and damage to property, while they and their staff had been physically or verbally threatened.

Just under half of respondents (47 per cent) said they and their employees had been threatened or had suffered abuse and violence when asking for proof of age ahead of selling an age-restricted product.

Forty-four per cent reported that they and their staff had faced abuse or violence because they had refused to make a proxy sale – selling an age restricted product to a customer buying for a minor.

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“Inadequate responses from the police and a slap on the wrist for offenders means that shoplifting is soaring, and offenders are becoming more aggressive and brazen,” said Fed National President Mo Razzaq.

“From the responses we received, it is clear that real action is needed by police, by courts and by the government to stem the overwhelming tide of crime against retailers and their staff. Everyone deserves to feel safe at work and for their businesses to be protected against criminals.

“Fed members are also sending a clear message that one of the catalysts for verbal and physical abuse in stores is asking for proof of age before selling an age restricted product. If the government presses ahead with its plans to phase out smoking and vaping through a progressive ban to gradually end the sale of tobacco products across the country, independent retailers will be subject to even greater levels of violence, abuse and theft.”

Calling for action from the government and not just words, Mr Razzaq continued: “Without effective deterrent, criminals and opportunistic members of the public will continue to commit crimes.”

According to Ministry of Justice statistics, during the year to March 2024, 431 fines were handed out for retail theft under £100, while Home Office statistics for the same period show that 2,252 cautions were accepted for shoplifting.