Retail sales in Great Britain were weaker than expected in November despite stores starting to cut prices early as part of Black Friday discounting in the run-up to the key Christmas shopping season.
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said sales volumes rose 0.2% month on month in November, falling short of the 0.5% that economists had forecast.
However, the figures provided glimmer of hope after a 0.7% slump in sales in October, which is meant to kick off the crucial “golden quarter” of trading for the sector, when many high street retailers make all or most of their annual profits.
Retailers are hoping that Black Friday, which this year fell on 29 November and combined with payday for many, would have resulted in an increase in spending in the lead-up to Christmas. However, a full view of its impact will only be available in December’s figures, released next month.
The November figures – covering the four weeks from 27 October to 23 November – only captured early Black Friday promotions, with some retailers starting to offer discounts in the run-up to the imported US shopping event and its online counterpart, Cyber Monday.
However, those early promotions did not help clothing retailers, with their sales falling for a second straight month. Clothing retail volumes fell by 2.6% in November to their lowest level since January 2022, with businesses reporting that economic factors were affecting sales.
Shops in the non-food category – a combination of department stores, clothing, household and other non-food retailers – rose by 0.2%.
Food stores sales volumes increased for the first time in three months, up 0.5%, with the strongest growth in supermarkets, the ONS said.
The ONS said that, on a quarterly basis – a better guide to the underlying trend than a single month’s figures – sales volumes rose 0.3% in the three months to the end of November compared with the previous quarter.
The ONS senior statistician Hannah Finselbach said: “Retail sales increased slightly in November following last month’s fall. For the first time in three months there was a boost for food store sales, particularly supermarkets.
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“It was also a good month for household goods retailers, most notably furniture shops. Clothing store sales dipped sharply once again, as retailers reported tough trading conditions.”
Jacqui Baker, the head of retail at the accountancy company RSM UK, said: “Despite many retailers launching Black Friday offers early, November trade got off to a slow start which dragged on for most of the month.
“This was driven by clothing, which fell to its lowest level since January 2022. The only saving grace was half-term and Halloween spending helped to slightly offset disappointing sales throughout November.”