UK Retailers Demand Brexit Deal After Worst September On Record

Retailers have urged the government to secure a Brexit deal with the EU after their latest health check of high street and online spending showed the weakest growth for the month of September since the survey was launched in the mid-1990s. The British Retail Consortium – the trade body for shops, stores and digital suppliers of consumer goods – said a 1.3% drop in sales in September meant the annual increase in activity had dropped to just 0.2% – its lowest level since 1995. Although wages are currently rising faster than prices, retailers said the BRC’s monthly survey with KPMG showed that consumers were reluctant to part with their money at a time of heightened political and economic uncertainty. Official figures from the Office for National Statistics have been less downbeat than surveys from the BRC and the CBI. Read more at The Guardian.