Like-for-like sales in discretionary retail rose 4.6 per cent year on year in October, the strongest growth recorded by BDO’s High Street Sales Tracker since January 2025.
Online did most of the work. Non-store sales rose 10.1 per cent, while in-store sales grew 2.2 per cent, below the rate of inflation.
The key figures for October 2026 (like-for-like, year on year):
- Total discretionary sales: up 4.6 per cent
- Online sales: up 10.1 per cent
- In-store sales: up 2.2 per cent
- Fashion online: up 9.0 per cent
- Fashion in-store: up 2.1 per cent
BDO said October was only the third month this year in which sales growth beat inflation, pointing to a rise in sales volumes. It linked the jump in fashion to shoppers buying winter clothing once temperatures fell after several months of warm weather, and said promotions were also likely to have lifted spending.
The figures follow a weak September, when like-for-like sales fell 0.3 per cent, the weakest September result since 2019, and online sales fell 1.1 per cent. The October numbers suggest much of the usual autumn spending arrived a month later than normal.
Sophie Michael, head of retail and wholesale at BDO, said retailers should be wary of drawing conclusions from one month’s figures. She said underlying trading conditions remain difficult, consumer confidence is fragile, and shoppers are cautious and highly price-sensitive.
On the Budget, she said the two-year freeze on business rates gives some reassurance to retailers that will not benefit from the full rates relief, but there was little to suggest a significant boost to household spending power in the coming months.
The tracker measures weekly sales at fashion, lifestyle and homewares retailers, across stores and online, and excludes large grocery chains. October was the first month of the golden quarter trading period that runs to Christmas.
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