Online retail sales, the engine of the retail sector, has recorded the slowest growth in over a year during September, according to the British Retail Consortium (BRC).

In the 12 months to September online sales growth was 8.2%, the slowest annual rate since July 2013, based on BRC figures.

But it wasn’t all bad news for online retailers. Ecommerce businesses took their biggest slice of the retail market last month, accounting for 17.5% of all non-food sales.

Helen Dickinson, BRC director general said digital shops were still on track to record another record-breaking Christmas rush.

She said: “September saw the lowest online growth since July 2013. For the first time clothing and footwear contributed to an overall decline of the non-food category sales online.

“But for the first time, the growth of total UK non-food sales over the last three months has owed more to the online purchases than in-store buying. This promises another record Christmas to come for online sales.”