Shoppers stay away in droves as warm weather hits retail

Ice cream sellers might have been pleased, but otherwise retailers were buffetted by the unusually warm September.

Fashion retailers expecting a boost as folk stocked up on winter cardigans instead found that customers had better things to do than shop.

Like-for-like sales were down 4% in the month compared with a year earlier, according to accountancy group BDO.

That is the sharpest fall since March 2009, the last thing an already beleaguered industry needs.

BDO's national head of retail and wholesale, Don Williams, said things should now improve towards the festive season.

"While conditions on the High Street are undoubtedly tough, consumer spending is unlikely to collapse completely between now and Christmas," he said.

"We expect an element of bounce back now the temperature has dropped, and the usual seasonal promotions are starting to appear."

City analysts expect to see profit warnings from retailers soon, blaming the good weather.