UK online shopping just had its worst September on record
Key Points
- UK online retail sales fell 1.1% in September, BDO's weakest September on record outside the pandemic
- Total like-for-like discretionary sales fell 0.3%, the worst September in seven years
- Back-to-school and autumn clothing spending failed to deliver the usual boost
- CBI data shows retailers cutting orders at the fastest rate since 1983
- BDO wants the Autumn Budget to ease cost pressures on retailers
UK online retail sales fell 1.1% in September, according to accountancy firm BDO. BDO’s High Street Sales Tracker showed this was the weakest September for online sales the firm has ever recorded, excluding the pandemic period.
Online sales grew 3.1% in September 2025, the firm said. Total like-for-like sales across discretionary retail categories fell 0.3%, compared with growth of 3.1% a year earlier.
That makes it the weakest September for total discretionary retail sales in seven years, outside the pandemic.
Back-to-school spending and autumn wardrobe refreshes normally lift sales in September, but neither gave retailers their usual boost this year.
Total sales growth stayed below 2025 levels throughout the month, BDO said.
“These results are deeply concerning and come at the worst possible time for retailers,” said Sophie Michael, head of retail and wholesale at BDO.
“The fact that even online sales have fallen shows just how difficult the trading environment is,” she added.
Michael said retailers faced rising employment, supply chain and energy costs, and that many feared further business rate rises in the Budget.
She warned that households face another winter of financial strain as energy bills rise, while extreme weather around the world looks set to push up food prices.
The figures follow the CBI’s Distributive Trades Survey for September, which found online retail sales declining at their fastest rate in nearly three years.
Retailers in the CBI survey reported cutting order volumes at the fastest rate since the survey began in 1983.
“While businesses will need to continue to manage margins incredibly carefully, there is only so much they can absorb before passing costs onto the consumer,” said Michael.
Retailers want Budget support
BDO called on the government to use Chancellor John Healey’s first Autumn Budget to ease the cost burden on retailers ahead of the Golden Quarter, the busy run-up to Christmas.
“Retailers urgently need measures that ease the growing cost burden and give businesses the confidence to invest,” said Michael.
“Without meaningful support, there is a real risk that more retailers simply won’t be able to withstand the challenges ahead,” she added.
