The last few years have undoubtedly been a difficult time for the UK's retail market, but it is showing signs of improvement.

Indeed, the latest statistics from the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) show September's figures were once again largely positive. High street sales continued to grow strongly in the 12 months to September, with the fastest pace of expansion at any time since June 2012 recorded.

Barry Williams, chief merchandising officer for food at Asda and chair of the CBI distributive trades survey panel, said: "It's encouraging to see the high street on the road to recovery, with particularly strong growth from furniture and carpet retailers, department stores and recreational goods retailers. But the retail sector is not out of the woods yet with consumer confidence still fragile despite the rise in spending."

The immediate picture is a positive one though, as the CBI believes retail figures are likely to improve once again in October.

With September's results already good enough to beat solid expectations and predictions for the sector, it seems the retail market is improving faster than many experts first suspected it might.

Of those retailers that responded to the CBI's survey, 46 per cent said their sales volumes were up in September in comparison with a year ago, while only 12 per cent indicated they were down. The balance of +34 per cent is the strongest at any point in the last 15 months.

It is no secret that plenty of growth in the retail market in recent times is the result of a boom in online shopping, with many consumers opting to spend their money via ecommerce platforms before waiting for their orders to arrive at their front doors.

This could increase employment opportunities for drivers, as many of the country's major retailers find they need to expand their fleet in order to get online deliveries to the people who have purchased them.

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