Supermarket volume sales have seen the steepest drop since the beginning of the year, according to the latest retail sales figures from the Office of National Statistics.
Food retailers saw sales volumes drop 2.4% during the month to September 2024, the largest month-on-month drop for the sector so far this year.
The drop is said to be down to a combination of poor weather and continued belt-tightening by consumers, which led them to cut back on luxury food items.
Overall, retail volumes crept up in September and over the last 12 months.
Volumes rose 0.3% during September, following a 1.0% rise in August, and reached the highest index level since July 2022.
For the year to September, sales volumes have risen 3.9%, the largest annual rise since February 2022.
The strongest rise in sales came from retailers classified as āother non-food storesā, up 5.5% over the month, within which ācomputer and telecommunications retailersā had the strongest contribution.
All non-food stores, including department stores, clothing and household among others, rose 2.5% in September building on a 0.6% rise in August.
Other non-food stores also enjoyed the strongest growth in online sales, growing 10.5%.
The amount spent online rose by 1.3% during the month, up 6.7% compared with September last year.
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