Dash for gold helps drive retail sales in Great Britain to three-year high

Sales at UK retailers unexpectedly rose last month to their highest level since July 2022, according to official figures, boosted by tech purchases amid the release of the new iPhone 17 as well as strong online demand for gold.

Data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) shows that retail sales volumes rose by 0.5% in September, the fourth consecutive monthly increase, confounding economists’ forecasts of a 0.2% monthly drop.

Sales of products at computer and telecommunication retailers grew strongly last month. Online sales climbed for the eighth consecutive month, helped by internet jewellers who reported strong demand for gold as the safe haven commodity enjoyed its biggest rally since the 1970s amid global uncertainty.

The largest sales rise in September was at non-food stores, which includes department stores as well as clothing and household goods, and which rose by 0.9%.

Total sales volumes rose by 1.5% over the year to September. The ONS also revised up August’s monthly increase from 0.5% to 0.6%. However, despite last month’s rise, sales volumes remain 1.6% lower than their pre-pandemic level from February 2020.

The September figures came on the back of a strong summer of sales as shoppers were motivated to buy clothes during the warm months of the year and the Euro 2025 women’s football tournament. Sales volumes rose 0.9% between July and September compared with the previous quarter, between April and June.

However, July’s retail sales were delayed by the ONS by two weeks in the latest sign of problems at the UK’s statistics agency with producing reliable data, which has raised concerns among Treasury officials during preparations for November’s budget.

Despite September’s stronger-than-expected sales volumes, industry experts warned that this trend was unlikely to continue, given the economic backdrop of continuing high inflation, weakening employment and the prospect of tax rises.

Rachel Reeves’s 26 November budget is due in the period when discounting gets under way as Black Friday approaches. The broader economic picture shows consumers are tightening their belts, just as retailers are gearing up for the crucial Christmas trading period, according to Nicholas Found, the head of commercial content at the consultancy Retail Economics.

“Shoppers are taking a cautious, deliberate approach to spending, as budgets remain under pressure from essential living expenses,” he said.

“The late autumn budget next month couldn’t come at worse time for the sector, landing just as retailers gear up for peak trading over Christmas. Growing concerns around tax and borrowing costs are weighing on consumers’ spending intentions, prompting fiercer competition for limited discretionary spend.”