UK shops see surprise sales bump despite money worries

British shops saw a small but surprising uptick in sales last month‚ going against what money experts thought would happen. The Office for National Statistics says sales went up by 03% in September‚ which wasnt what folks expected

People in the UK are still dealing with higher costs for everyday things‚ thanks to energy prices that shot up after Russia went into Ukraine about two-and-a-half years ago. But things arent as tough as they were – prices arent going up as fast as before (they were rising by more than 11% at one point‚ but now its less than 2%)

Some big stores are doing okay‚ especially when it comes to food. Tesco‚ the biggest grocery store in Britain‚ thinks itll make more money this year and is looking forward to Christmas. But people arent so quick to buy stuff they dont really need

The boss of Sainsburys (another big supermarket that sells other things too) says shoppers are nervous about spending lots of money on big items. Theyre waiting to see what the government says about money in a couple of weeks

So while food is selling well‚ people are holding back on buying other expensive things. Its a mixed bag for stores‚ with some doing better than others depending on what they sell