Retail sales fall faster than expected ahead of Budget

Retail sales fell at a faster pace than expected in September, new figures have shown, as consumer confidence suffered a major drop ahead of the Budget. Total sales at retailers fell 0.4 per cent in September, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), a bigger drop than the 0.1 per cent forecast by City economists. It follows a surge in August, which the ONS revised upwards to 0.7 per cent from 0.5 per cent previously. September s slowdown was triggered by a slump at non-food stores and online spending, where volumes declined 0.4 per cent. Firms reported lower sales and footfall as customers cut back on non-essential purchases. It comes as new data from GfK shows UK consumer confidence suffered its biggest fall since the Brexit vote in 2016. The firm s long-running consumer confidence index fell 11 points to -24 in September. Neil Bellamy, consumer insights director at GfK, said there was an extraordinary collapse in confidence. Paul Dales, chief UK econ