British retail spending grew modestly in October, rising 1.5% on a year earlier, the British Retail Consortium (BRC) said on Tuesday, in its strongest reading since June.

The BRC-KPMG Retail Sales Monitor, which covers the four weeks to 31 October, showed total sales up from 1.3% growth in September. Like-for-like sales, which strip out changes in store space, rose 1.1%, after 1.0% the previous month.

Food leads as non-food stalls

Food sales climbed 3.2% year on year, above the three-month average of 2.7% and the 12-month average of 3.0%. Non-food sales were flat over the same period, against modest growth of 0.1% in October last year.

The split points to spending driven more by prices in the grocery aisle than by a broad pickup in discretionary demand. Shoppers held back on bigger purchases, with many waiting for Black Friday deals, while higher petrol prices also weighed on household budgets.

BRC chief executive Helen Dickinson said sales of cupboard staples rose modestly after the government advised households to stock up for emergencies. She added that retailers were hoping pent-up demand translates into stronger spending through November and December.

Card spending paints a firmer picture

Separate figures from Barclays, which track card spending across a wider range of goods and services, showed consumer spending up 2.3% year on year in October, from 2.0% in September and the biggest increase since July 2025.

Essential spending rose 3.1%, lifted by a 22.7% jump in fuel spending as petrol prices climbed. Barclays also reported that its consumer confidence gauge had fallen to its weakest since April, underlining the cautious mood among households.

The contrast between the two surveys reflects their different coverage: the BRC monitor tracks spending in shops, while Barclays captures card payments across services as well as goods.

Budget caution hangs over Christmas trading

Retailers face a testing run-up to Christmas. Caution ahead of the Budget on 26 November is keeping some shoppers on the sidelines, and a separate BRC release last week showed shop footfall down 4.7% in October as stormy weather and weak confidence kept people away from high streets.

For markets, the figures give a mixed signal. Modest sales growth alongside higher fuel and food spending suggests households are still spending, but largely on essentials. That leaves retailers depending heavily on Black Friday and the festive period to turn a subdued autumn into a stronger end to the year.

Linda Ellett, UK head of consumer, retail and leisure at KPMG, which sponsors the BRC survey, said the overall picture remained one of modest growth held back by higher household costs and shoppers waiting for discounts.