UK retail sales slow in November, says BRC

UK retail sales fell 0.4% on a like-for-like basis in November from the same month last year, when they had risen 0.9% from 2013, according to a survey by the British Retail Consortium and accountants KPMG.

On a total basis, sales were up 0.7% against a 2.2% rise in November 2014.

David McCorquodale, head of retail at KPMG, said: “November's relatively flat sales figures are a reality check for the retail sector with consumers holding off for a Black Friday bargain pitted against retailers determined to hold onto their hard-earned margins.

“The result was that, despite the hype around Black Friday, there was minimal loosening of the family purse strings compared to last year and retailers, facing significant cost increases next year, will be striving to wean UK shoppers off the discounting drug.”

Total food sales grew 0.1% over the three months to November and 0.3% over the twelve months, but declined for the month.

On a three-month basis, total non-food sales were up 3.5%, ahead of their twelve-month average of 2.9%.

Online sales of non-food products in the UK were up 11.8% versus a year earlier, when they had grown 12%.

“Generous discounting over the Black Friday sales period does not seem to have provided the hoped-for boost to volumes,” said Samuel Tombs, chief UK economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics.

“With consumer confidence falling for three consecutive months and the November’s CBI Distributive Trades survey also surprising to the downside, the recovery in retail sales appears to be losing momentum. This slowdown is likely to continue in 2016 as inflation snaps back, job growth fades and welfare cuts intensify.”