Browsing not buying: tough September for UK fashion, drop grew as month wore on

If anyone was expecting a shopping boom as the autumn collections dropped, they must be disappointed as the UK’s September retail sales actually registered their weakest reading in seven years.

Well, the weakest excluding the pandemic period, that is. But coming in better than a time when lockdowns were in force and most shops were shut is hardly anything to shout about.

Total like-for-like sales in discretionary categories fell 0.3% with non-store sales down 1.1%, “reflecting the poorest September performance outside the pandemic period”. Online sales had been up 3.1% last September so the extent of this underperformance is very clear.

That’s according to the latest monthly report from accountancy and business advisory firm BDO.

Fashion LFL sales fell by 0.7% versus growth of 4% in September 2025. And even though store-based fashion sales edged up 0.1% and non-store fashion sales increased 1.3%, both were well below September 2025, Back then the respective figures were positive to the tune of 6.4% and 4.3%.   

Store fashion sales weakened throughout September, falling from +6.22% in week one to -5.46% in week four. Non-store sales briefly surged +10.24% in week three, before dropping to -6.38% in the final week of the month.

Traditionally, September benefits from a seasonal boost due to back-to-school spending and shoppers refreshing their wardrobes for autumn. London Fashion Week also saw plenty of UK-wide retail activity to tempt shoppers into stores. However, none of that provided the usual uplift this year, with total sales growth for the month remaining consistently below 2025 levels. The data reflects the mounting pressure on the consumer purse and discretionary spending as retailers head into the all-important Golden Quarter.

And anecdotally, it can be seen in the large number of money-off emails many of us have seen in our inboxes. From the mass-market to the high end, retailers and e-tailers have been falling over themselves to tempt us in with inducements as high as 30% off in some cases.

Sophie Michael, head of retail and wholesale at BDO, usually takes a very balanced approach to any comments on the monthly figures but her language this time was quite extreme: “These results are deeply concerning and come at the worst possible time for retailers. September should act as a springboard into the crucial final months of the year, but instead we’re seeing consumers rein in discretionary spending. The fact that even online sales have fallen shows just how difficult the trading environment is.

“Retailers are facing pressure on multiple fronts. Costs of employment, supply chain and energy continue to rise and many will be apprehensive about further business rate rises announced in the Budget.

“Households are facing another winter of greater financial strain as energy bills bite and look set to rise further. Extreme weather across the globe is also expected to place further pressure on food prices in the months ahead, inevitably taking a larger proportion of consumer spend.

“The retail sector is entering the most important trading period of the year from an exceptionally fragile position. Retailers desperately need consumers to loosen the purse strings this Christmas but are having to make difficult decisions on stock levels, staffing and investment without visibility of whether consumer demand will materialise.”