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UK retailers report sales drop, biggest cutback in orders on record: CBI

UK retailers report sales drop, biggest cutback in orders on record: CBI
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Pooja Shrivastava
By Pooja ShrivastavaSep 26, 2026
Pooja Shrivastava
A passionate journalist with about a decade of experience, Pooja has developed a strong hold on the UK grocery retail sector. From exploring legislative changes, supply chain shifts, consumer buying habits, trends to retail crime, her work is driven by a deep belief in investigating, finding the truth and telling authentic unbiased stories. Be it convenience pathbreakers, wholesale trendsetters or Post Office Horizon scandal victims, Pooja has an equal flair for deciphering industries as well as human complexities. At Asian Trader, she aims to bridge the gap between policy, trade, and the shop floor, always keeping a finger on the pulse of what matters most to retailers.
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British retailers this month reported the biggest drop in sales since April and they cut orders with their suppliers by the most since records began in 1983, a Confederation of British Industry survey showed on Thursday.

The CBI's headline distributive trades balance, which measures activity compared with a year earlier, fell to -55 to -48 in August.

"Retailers ⁠reported a steep fall in annual sales volumes in September, with some firms attributing the deterioration to poor consumer sentiment," said Martin Sartorius, lead economist at the CBI.

"The persistent sales downturn appears to have prompted retailers to cut back on order volumes at a survey-record pace."

The CBI said it hoped new Prime Minister Andy Burnham's pledge ⁠to boost growth "in every postcode" would include lower property taxes for high-street retailers

  • Wholesalers and the motor trade also reported deteriorating sales
  • Retailers' expected sales volumes for August fell to -37 from -22
  • CBI ⁠retail data has been persistently more downbeat than that from the British Retail Consortium and the Office for National Statistics
  • ONS retail ⁠sales data last week showed 2.7% annual sales volume growth excluding fuel in the year to June
  • The ⁠CBI survey was based on responses from 46 retail chains and 71 wholesalers between August 27 and September 14
Meanwhile, consumer confidence in the economy reported to have stumbled after four months of improvement, with a similar trend for sentiment around personal finances.

According to BRC-Opinium data, consumer expectations over the next three months of:

  • The state of the economy worsened to -34 in September, down from -28 in August.
  • Their personal financial situation worsened to -15 in September, down from -9 in August.
  • Their personal spending on retail fell to +5 in September, down from +8 in August.
  • Their personal spending overall remained at +15 in September, the same as in August.
  • Their personal saving fell slightly to -7 in September, from -5 in August.

Helen Dickinson, Chief Executive of the British Retail Consortium, said: “Consumer confidence in the economy stumbled after four months of improvement, with a similar trend for sentiment around personal finances.

"This decline was much sharper among women and with households bracing for a sharp rise in energy costs this winter, and bills rising faster than shop prices, it is little surprise that expectations of retail spending fell, even as overall spending plateaued.

“With the Budget looming large, consumers want to see Government prioritise bringing down the cost of living. Retail will play its part, but the Chancellor must not compound the triple blow from escalating employment costs, energy bills, and business rates, allowing retailers to focus on holding prices down.
"He should start by freezing the business rates multiplier, preventing yet another burdensome tax increase.”
british retail consortium confederation of british industry consumer sentiment office for national statistics retail sales uk retailers

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