The Confederation of British Industry's retail sales gauge for the UK increased slightly to -32 in August 2025 from -34 in July, better than market expectations of -33. The latest reading indicated that retail sales volumes declined for the 11th consecutive month. Looking ahead, the outlook for September brightened to -16. Shops raised prices at the fastest pace since late 2023, with the CBI’s price gauge jumping to +65, though a slowdown is expected next month. The CBI said weak demand and higher labor costs are squeezing margins, hurting confidence and leading firms to cut back on hiring and investment. Retailers also face pressure from higher employment taxes set by Finance Minister Rachel Reeves and a sharp rise in the minimum wage. source: Confederation of British Industry

Cbi Distributive Trades in the United Kingdom increased to -32 Net Balance in August from -34 Net Balance in July of 2025. Cbi Distributive Trades in the United Kingdom averaged 14.99 Net Balance from 1983 until 2025, reaching an all time high of 72.00 Net Balance in July of 1984 and a record low of -55.00 Net Balance in December of 2008. This page provides - United Kingdom CBI Distributive Trades- actual values, historical data, forecast, chart, statistics, economic calendar and news. United Kingdom CBI Distributive Trades - data, historical chart, forecasts and calendar of releases - was last updated on September of 2025.

Cbi Distributive Trades in the United Kingdom increased to -32 Net Balance in August from -34 Net Balance in July of 2025. Cbi Distributive Trades in the United Kingdom is expected to be -28.00 Net Balance by the end of this quarter, according to Trading Economics global macro models and analysts expectations. In the long-term, the United Kingdom CBI Distributive Trades is projected to trend around 2.00 Net Balance in 2026 and 5.00 Net Balance in 2027, according to our econometric models.



Calendar GMT Reference Actual Previous Consensus TEForecast
2025-07-28 10:00 AM
CBI Distributive Trades
Jul -34 -46 -26 -30
2025-08-27 10:00 AM
CBI Distributive Trades
Aug -32 -34 -33 -30
2025-09-26 10:00 AM
CBI Distributive Trades
Sep -32 -28


Related Last Previous Unit Reference
Bank Lending Rate 8.58 8.61 percent Jul 2025
CBI Distributive Trades -32.00 -34.00 Net Balance Aug 2025
GfK Consumer Confidence -17.00 -19.00 points Aug 2025
BoE Consumer Credit 1622.00 1471.00 GBP Million Jul 2025
Consumer Spending 391007.00 390605.00 GBP Million Jun 2025
Disposable Personal Income 417902.00 421732.00 GBP Million Mar 2025
Gasoline Prices 1.81 1.81 USD/Liter Aug 2025
Households Debt to GDP 76.30 77.20 percent of GDP Dec 2024
Net Lending to Individuals MoM 6144.00 6861.00 GBP Million Jul 2025
Personal Savings 10.90 12.00 percent Mar 2025
Retail Sales ex Fuel MoM 0.50 0.60 percent Jul 2025
Retail Sales MoM 0.60 0.30 percent Jul 2025
Retail Sales YoY 1.10 0.90 percent Jul 2025

United Kingdom CBI Distributive Trades
The Confederation of British Industry's (CBI) monthly retail sales balance is a gauge of retail sales versus a year ago. The reading is compiled from a survey of about 150 retail and wholesale companies. It includes measures of sales activity across the distributive trades. It is a leading indicator of consumer spending. The figure is the difference between the percentage of retailers reporting an increase in sales and those reporting a decrease.
Actual Previous Highest Lowest Dates Unit Frequency
-32.00 -34.00 72.00 -55.00 1983 - 2025 Net Balance Monthly
NSA

News Stream
UK Retail Sales Fall for 11th Month: CBI
The Confederation of British Industry's retail sales gauge for the UK increased slightly to -32 in August 2025 from -34 in July, better than market expectations of -33. The latest reading indicated that retail sales volumes declined for the 11th consecutive month. Looking ahead, the outlook for September brightened to -16. Shops raised prices at the fastest pace since late 2023, with the CBI’s price gauge jumping to +65, though a slowdown is expected next month. The CBI said weak demand and higher labor costs are squeezing margins, hurting confidence and leading firms to cut back on hiring and investment. Retailers also face pressure from higher employment taxes set by Finance Minister Rachel Reeves and a sharp rise in the minimum wage.
2025-08-27
UK Retail Sales Fall for 10th Month: CBI
The Confederation of British Industry's (CBI) monthly gauge of UK retail sales rose to -34 in July 2025, up from June’s 17-month low of -46. While the figure marks an improvement, it still fell short of market expectations of -26. The latest reading indicates that retail sales volumes declined for the tenth consecutive month, as rising prices and ongoing economic uncertainty continued to weigh on consumer spending. Meanwhile, the measure of expected sales for August improved to -31, compared to -49 the previous month.
2025-07-28
UK Retail Sales Fall for 9th Consecutive Month: CBI
The Confederation of British Industry's retail sales gauge for the UK fell sharply to -46 in June 2025 from -27 in May, marking the ninth consecutive monthly decline and well below forecasts of -32. A further drop is expected in July (-49%). Sales for the time of year were also seen as poor (-37%), and are forecast to stay below seasonal norms next month (-38%). Online sales rose slightly (+6%), though slower than May’s growth, and are expected to grow modestly again in July (+8%). Wholesale sales fell year-on-year (-34%), but at a slower rate than in May, while motor trade sales also declined (-37%). Orders placed with suppliers dropped at the fastest pace since December 2023 (-51%) and are expected to fall further (-53%). Stock levels in relation to expected demand rose to +26%, above the long-run average.
2025-06-26