Retail sales exceeded expectations, growing strongly in the year to September 2013, with furniture and carpet retailers leading the way, according to CBI results.
September was the third consecutive month of growth recorded in the Confederation of British Industry's (CBI) monthly Distributive Trades Survey, and sales are expected to increase similarly again in October. Furniture and carpet stores performed well, posting the strongest results since 1996, and building materials wholesalers also saw strong growth.

111 businesses were surveyed in the monthly report, which was published last week. 46% of the retailers surveyed reported that sales volumes were up compared with a year ago; only 12% said sales were down. This gave a balance of +34%, which is the strongest pace of growth since June 2012 (+42%).

There was a broad-based increase in sales across many sub-sectors, but furniture and carpet stores led the way. A balance of +100% of furniture and carpet retailers said sales volumes were up, the strongest since August 1996. Comparatively, sales at hardware and DIY retailers were not as high, with only +20% reporting increases.

50% of the wholesalers surveyed reported that sales were up, and building materials was the strongest sub-sector, with the balance of +100% of wholesalers reporting growth, compared to -34% in September 2012.

The DTS was conducted between August 28 and September 11 2013 and 111 firms took part, 61 of which were retailers and 41 were wholesalers. Across the board, retailers and wholesalers expected October to be another positive month.

Chair of the CBI DTS Panel, Barry Williams, said: "It's encouraging to see the high street on the road to recovery, with particularly strong growth from furniture and carpet retailers and department stores. But the retail sector is not out of the woods yet, with consumer confidence still fragile despite the rise in spending."

These survey results come just weeks after figures from the ONS showed that retail sales in August this year had fallen by 0.9%.