More than 80 retailers have signed an open letter to UK Chancellor Rachel Reeves, expressing concerns about the economic impact of the Autumn Budget on the retail sector.  

The signatories warned that the proposed measures could burden the industry with an estimated £7.06bn ($8.95bn) in additional costs by the end of 2025. 

According to the British Retail Consortium (BRC), retail is the UK's largest private sector employer, contributing more than £100bn annually to GDP and directly employing three million people.  

The letter states: “We appreciate government’s focus on improving the fiscal situation and investing in public services; we also recognise the role businesses have in supporting this.  

“But the sheer scale of new costs and the speed with which they occur create a cumulative burden that will make job losses inevitable, and higher prices a certainty.” 

The letter highlighted concerns about measures such as National Insurance Contribution (NIC) changes, an increased National Living Wage and a new packaging levy. 

The NIC threshold adjustment alone was projected to cost £1.76bn, with the effect likely to aggravate inflation and force job cuts, particularly in entry-level and part-time roles.  

Business rates are set to increase by £140m in April 2025. 

Retailers, which the British Retail Consortium states already pay 55% of profits in business taxes, operate on tight margins of 3% to 5%, leaving little room to absorb additional expenses.  

The letter suggests adjusting the timings of some of the changes to give businesses time to adjust and mitigate their effects on high streets and consumers.  

It calls for the phased introduction of the new lower earnings threshold on National Insurance and an extension of timelines for implementing the packaging levies. 

The retailers also urged a review of the proposals announced at the Budget on business rates, with a bringing forward of the timetable so benefits can be realised earlier.