‘Reality check’ for retailers as sales creep up

The warm autumn weather has hit fashion retailers just as the High Street had been showing signs of recovery, according to a new report.

Like-for-like sales grew 0.7% in September against a year earlier but that made it the weakest month of the year, suggesting shoppers are willing to wait a little before buying their winter wardrobe, the British Retail Consortium and KPMG said.

David McCorquodale, KPMG’s head of retail, warned: “These figures are a reality check and will make retailers nervous as we enter the run up to Christmas.” Only children’s clothes and footwear saw a significant boost, mainly due to the back-to-school market.

Grocery sales also struggled as shoppers continued to feel the squeeze and turned to discounters such as Lidl and , which have both seen record-breaking rises in market share.