Britain’s retailers experienced a sharp slowdown in consumer spending last month, bringing to a close the World Cup-inspired summer spree on the high street.

According to the British Retail Consortium (BRC) and the accountancy firm KPMG, growth in total sales dropped to the weakest level in almost a year.

Total sales grew at an annual rate of 0.7% in September, compared with 2.3% growth during the same month a year ago. The BRC said this was the lowest growth rate since October 2017.

Excluding new store openings, like-for-like sales dropped by 0.2% in the year to September, compared with a 1.9% increase for the same period a year ago.

The latest snapshot for the retail sector comes before the important autumn and winter shopping periods, vital for industry profits, when sales of gifts and electrical goods are lifted by the Black Friday sales event in November and shoppers buying Christmas presents.

Retailers have been hit hard by a combination of problems that have led to job cuts and store closures across Britain. The ongoing shift to online shopping has increased competition, while sluggish wage growth and high levels of inflation have damaged the spending power of British households.

Sales of stationery, footwear and clothing fell last month, while retailers sold more computers, jewellery, furniture, home accessories and food.

Paul Martin, the UK head of retail at KPMG, which helps compile the BRC survey, said the usually reliable back-to-school sales push did not appear to have lifted retailers.

“The final golden quarter of the year marks the ultimate test for many players, but retailers must also successfully navigate the upcoming government budget, Black Friday, Christmas, and of course Brexit,” he added.

The figures were published as data from Barclaycard, which accounts for nearly half of all UK credit and debit card transactions, showed a similar slowdown in consumer spending.

Sales increased by 3.9% in the year to September, continuing a trend of slowing growth from a rate of 4.5% in August, 5% in July and 5.1% in June.

Esme Harwood, a director at Barclaycard, said: “We’ve seen spending return to a more modest level as consumers balance their budgets after a longer than usual summer of spend. Rising prices are having an impact on shoppers’ spending priorities, with more of their household budget devoted to everyday essentials such as petrol.”