LONDON: British retail sales dropped in November, hit by weaker online shopping despite Black Friday and the run up to Christmas, official data showed Friday.
Sales by volume fell 0.4 percent last month after rising in October, the Office for National Statistics said in a statement.
“Retail sales fell overall in November, driven by a notable drop for online retailers, with Black Friday offers failing to provide their usual lift in this sector,” said Darren Morgan, ONS director of economic statistics.
“However, department stores and household goods shops did report increased sales with these retailers telling us a longer period of Black Friday discounting helped boost sales.”
Total retail sales had jumped 0.9 percent in October, a figure skewed by a drop in September which saw a public holiday for the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II.
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“The drop in retail sales in November suggests that consumers are buckling under the pressure of surging… inflation, despite additional government support for their energy bills,” noted Gabriella Dickens, senior UK economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics.
“Retailers likely will endure a further drop in demand in December due to the heavy snowfall” seen across the UK so far this month.
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