British Retail Volumes Grow 0.7 Percent in the Third Quarter as September Falls 0.4 Percent
Retail sales volumes in Great Britain rose 0.7 percent in the third quarter of 2026 from the second, the Office for National Statistics said on 23 October, as fuel sales recovered and warm weather lifted food and drink. September on its own was weaker. Volumes fell 0.4 percent on the month, after a 0.7 percent rise in August that was revised up from 0.5 percent.
Against a year earlier, the quarter was 1.5 percent higher and September 0.8 percent higher. The index for the three months to September stood at 103.3, with 2024 set at 100, which puts quarterly volumes 3.3 percent above the 2024 average on our calculation. That reading matches August as the highest three-month level in the 37 months the release charts, back to September 2023, on our count.
Fuel and food carry the quarter
Automotive fuel grew fastest. Fuel volumes rose 3.6 percent over the quarter, the largest gain of any store type in the table on our count. They had dropped in April, when retailers said motorists made fewer journeys and put off filling their tanks as prices rose. Fuel volumes in each of the three months of the third quarter beat every month of the second.
Taking fuel out changes the picture. Excluding fuel, quarterly growth was 0.4 percent, so the headline ran 0.3 percentage points above it, on our calculation. September ran the same way. Fuel volumes rose 2.2 percent on the month even as pump prices kept rising, and total volumes fell 0.4 percent against a 0.7 percent fall with fuel excluded.
Food stores grew 0.6 percent over the quarter, as supermarkets sold more in both July and August. Sellers of alcohol and other drinks reported strong volumes from June to September and credited promotions, the warm weather and the World Cup. Non-store retailers, most of them online, rose 1.0 percent after a weak April.
On our count, 4 of the 7 store types in the table grew over the quarter and 2 were flat: other non-food stores and household goods. Clothing and footwear stores alone shrank, by 0.3 percent.
September: warm weather hits the autumn ranges
The release pinned the monthly fall on mail order sellers and supermarkets. Supermarket volumes slipped to slightly below their June level, giving back the gains of July and August. Online clothing retailers told the statistics office that autumn and winter ranges sold poorly in the warmth, and weather summaries cited in the release rank September 2026 as the joint-fourth warmest September on record.
Non-store volumes fell 2.2 percent, the steepest monthly drop in the table, after a strong August. Non-food stores as a group fell 0.4 percent. Clothing and footwear stores fell 0.9 percent and sports equipment sellers also declined, which retailers put down to lower footfall and customers cutting back. Household goods stores fell 0.5 percent, mostly on weaker hardware sales. Department stores rose 0.2 percent, the one store type in the table besides fuel to grow in September on our count.
The monthly series has been choppy all year, on our reading. On the published index, September was the fourth monthly fall of 2026, against five rises, on our count. From June to September it alternated between a rise and a fall every month.
Retail sales volumes by store type, Great Britain, September 2026
| Store type | Three months to September (%) | September on August (%) |
|---|---|---|
| All retailing | 0.7 | -0.4 |
| All retailing excluding fuel | 0.4 | -0.7 |
| Food stores | 0.6 | -0.4 |
| Department stores | 0.1 | 0.2 |
| Other non-food stores | 0.0 | -0.4 |
| Clothing and footwear stores | -0.3 | -0.9 |
| Household goods stores | 0.0 | -0.5 |
| Non-store retailing | 1.0 | -2.2 |
| Automotive fuel | 3.6 | 2.2 |
Seasonally adjusted volumes. The three-month change compares July to September with April to June 2026. Non-store retailing is mostly online sellers but also includes stalls and markets.
Spending values run ahead of volumes
Measured in money rather than quantity, September looks firmer. Total spending, in stores and online, rose 0.3 percent on the month while volumes fell 0.4 percent. The gap is 0.7 percentage points on our calculation. On our reading, it is consistent with higher average prices, alongside the rising fuel prices the release describes.
Online spending fell 0.4 percent in September after a 3.0 percent jump in August, and slipped 0.1 percent over the quarter. The annual pace is still strong: online values were 6.8 percent above September 2025 and 7.4 percent higher for the quarter. Because online sales eased while total spending rose, the online share of all sales dipped to 28.8 percent from 28.9 percent in August.
By store type, household goods led quarterly online growth at 7.9 percent. Other non-food stores followed at 2.1 percent and food stores at 0.6 percent. Online sales at clothing and footwear stores fell 4.9 percent over the quarter and at department stores 1.8 percent. Online sales at non-store retailers fell 1.9 percent in September, consistent, on our reading, with the mail order weakness behind the volume fall.
Online sales values by store type, Great Britain, September 2026
| Store type | Three months to September (%) | September on August (%) |
|---|---|---|
| All retailing excluding fuel | -0.1 | -0.4 |
| Food stores | 0.6 | 0.5 |
| Department stores | -1.8 | 0.6 |
| Other non-food stores | 2.1 | 2.5 |
| Clothing and footwear stores | -4.9 | 0.6 |
| Household goods stores | 7.9 | 0.8 |
| Non-store retailing | -0.6 | -1.9 |
Seasonally adjusted values in pounds. The online share of all retail sales was 28.8 percent in September.
The longer path
The third quarter puts volumes back on a rising track after a spring stall. On the published three-month index, volumes fell 0.6 percent in the fourth quarter of 2025, rose 1.3 percent in the first quarter of 2026 and edged up 0.1 percent in the second, on our calculation, before the 0.7 percent third-quarter gain.
Over longer spans the trend is steadier. The first nine months of 2026 averaged 1.8 percent above the same months of 2025, on our calculation from the monthly index. Third-quarter volumes were 2.9 percent above the third quarter of 2024 and 4.1 percent above the third quarter of 2023, also on our calculation.
Both earlier months were revised up. August’s rise now stands at 0.7 percent, from 0.5 percent in the previous release. July’s fall now stands at 0.4 percent, from 0.5 percent. September is a first estimate. It rests on a 59.1 percent survey response rate, covering 92.4 percent of turnover in the sample. This release revised both July and August, so September can move too, on our reading.
Retail sales volume index, three months to quarter end, Great Britain
| Quarter | Index (2024 = 100) | Change on previous quarter (%) |
|---|---|---|
| Q3 2025 | 101.8 | 1.1 |
| Q4 2025 | 101.2 | -0.6 |
| Q1 2026 | 102.5 | 1.3 |
| Q2 2026 | 102.6 | 0.1 |
| Q3 2026 | 103.3 | 0.7 |
Seasonally adjusted. The Q3 2026 change is the published figure; earlier quarterly changes are our calculation from index levels published to one decimal place.
Why it matters: Retail is a direct monthly read on household demand in Great Britain. Shoppers bought 1.5 percent more in the third quarter than a year earlier. In September, spending in money terms rose while quantities fell. The mix matters as much as the total. Fuel recovered from its April slump, and the warm weather lifted food and drink, while clothing was lower and household goods flat. In September, retailers blamed the warmth for weak autumn ranges and also reported lower footfall and customers cutting back.
Outlook: The October retail figures are due on 20 November 2026. Before then comes the Budget on Wednesday 28 October, the date HM Treasury confirmed on 31 July. October will show whether clothing sales recover as the weather cools and whether fuel volumes keep climbing after September’s rise. The statistics office is also consulting, until 30 October, on the release times of market-sensitive figures such as retail sales.
Sources: Office for National Statistics, HM Treasury, The Edge.
