The Retailer

An Invitation from Helen Dickinson (BRC) and Karen Croxson (CMA) AI and Agentic AI in Retail: Opportunities, Trust and Customer Experience Balancing competition, consumer protection, growth and innovation.

Join us for a more detailed look at the 2026 Budget from 11-12pm on Tuesday 3rd November. As the dust begins to settle, we will be joined by Lead Economist Harvir Dhillon to take a more thorough look at the Budget, how the OBR forecasts have been adjusted, costs associated with key policies and the role the BRC played pre Budget and what our next steps are.

•Towns across the UK have less than one month left to enter Let’s Celebrate Towns 2026, delivered by Visa in partnership with Nationwide. Entries close on Sunday 25 October. •Each category winner receives a £20,000 grant towards community-led projects or initiatives that give small businesses a boost. •Towns can enter across five categories: High Street Revival, Backing Local Business, Protecting Valued Places, Connected Places and Community Pride.

Join us on Thursday 29th October, the morning after the Budget, where we will be joined by BRC Lead Economist Harvir Dhillon to run over key announcements, the political implications and any immediate actions the BRC has taken including our press response.

The EUDR Working Group is a pre-competitive, Chatham House monthly forum for technical, sourcing, and sustainability leads across various retail sub-sectors to: Hear regulatory updates on EUDR enforcement in NI and GB deforestation regulation Feed into BRC plans for government engagement and advocacy Discuss common questions, challenges, and approaches regarding the EUDR with retail peers. Agenda to follow two days prior to the session.

We are pleased to have secured changes from DEFRA regarding the PRN system (thanks to all members who helped draft our letter to the Secretary of State a couple of weeks ago).

Covering the 5 weeks from 30 August to 3 October 2026 UK Total retail sales increased by 1.3% year on year in September, against a growth of 2.3% in September 2025. This was below the 12-month average growth of 1.5%. Food sales increased by 2.5% year on year in September, against a growth of 4.3% in September 2025. This was below the 12-month average growth of 3.1%. Non-Food sales increased by 0.3% year on year in September, against a growth of 0.7% in September 2025.

Cost of living pressures, youth unemployment and Britain’s productivity challenge are the public’s top priorities for the Budget, according to new polling from the British Retail Consortium (BRC). Polling by Opinium, commissioned by the BRC, found almost nine in ten (89%) UK adults want the Government to prioritise reducing the cost of living, while more than four in five back action on youth unemployment (83%).

Wed 21 October 14:00 - 15:30 Teams Join us on 21 October to discuss the consultation from the Home Office on amendment of the Poisons Act 1972 framework. In the consultation different options are proposed by the Home Office. Which would you prefer?

We met a senior official from the HMT Business Tax department to press them on retailers’ priorities for the forthcoming Budget, later in October. We briefed them on the impact of recent tax rises on retail, including the fact that the industry had seen a 20% increase in its tax bill in the course of the last two years. We set out our priorities, focusing in particular on property, employment and related measures.