UK retail footfall and fuel demand both fell in September

ONS data shows consumer activity weakened month-on-month in September 2026, with retail footfall down, fuel demand lower, and the Direct Debit failure rate rising.

Motor fuel prices rose by 29.8 per cent in the year to September 2026 — up from 23.0 per cent in the year to August — making petrol and diesel the sharpest-rising cost in the ONS’s latest consumer activity snapshot. Petrol averaged 169.5 pence per litre in September, with diesel at 192.5 pence per litre, after rises of 8.2 pence and 10.7 pence per litre respectively from August.

The Office for National Statistics posted the headline figures on 22 October 2026, reporting that UK retail footfall fell by 1 per cent in September compared with August, automotive fuel demand dropped by 1 percentage point over the same period, and the growth rate of fuel prices increased by 6 percentage points month-on-month. The Direct Debit failure rate also rose by 1 per cent compared with August.

For context, retail footfall had already fallen by 2 per cent in August compared with July, so September’s further decline extends a two-month run of declining high street traffic. The fuel price growth rate acceleration is slightly smaller than August’s — when it rose by 7 percentage points compared with July — but still points to sustained upward pressure at the pump.

The Direct Debit failure rate is worth watching. ONS recorded a seasonally adjusted rate of 2.4 per cent in August 2026, up from 2.3 per cent in August 2025 — and September’s further 1 per cent rise suggests more households are struggling to meet scheduled payments.

The figures show a consistent picture of month-on-month softening across several measures, though the ONS data does not establish why each indicator moved. Higher fuel prices may have weighed on demand and household budgets, but the available results don’t confirm causation. The underlying September consumer activity release could not be independently retrieved beyond the ONS tweet, so the headline figures should be treated as reported rather than fully verified at this stage.