UK retail sales slip as Black Friday fails to lift spending

UK retail sales fell unexpectedly in November, as cautious consumers limited spending and Black Friday discounts proved less effective ahead of Christmas, official figures showed.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said retail sales volumes declined by 0.1% in November, following a sharper 0.9% fall in October. Economists had expected a 0.4% increase. Sales were still 0.6% higher than a year earlier, The Irish Times writes. 

Supermarket sales dropped for a fourth consecutive month, down 0.5%, with retailers reporting fewer shoppers in stores. Non-store retailing, which includes online sellers, street stalls and markets, recorded a sharper 2.9% fall, with online jewellers citing weaker demand after a period of strong interest in gold.

The ONS said Black Friday promotions appeared to have had less impact than in previous years. ONS senior statistician Hannah Finselbach said: “This year November’s Black Friday discounts did not boost sales as much as in some recent years, meaning that once we adjust for usual seasonality, our headline figures fell a little on the month.

“Meanwhile, our separate household survey showed that although some people said they were planning to do more shopping this Black Friday than last, almost twice as many said they were planning to do less.”

Some sectors performed better. Department store sales rose 2.3%, which retailers linked to extended discounting periods. Clothing and footwear sales increased by 1.7%, while household goods sales climbed 1.8%.

By Sabina Mammadli