Retail sales advanced in November when Black Friday helped stoke shopper demand.
Sales by value, excluding fuel, rose 6.9% year on year and 1.4% month on month, Office for National Statistics data showed. By volume, they climbed 2.7% and 1.1% respectively.
Compared with February 2020, the increases were 11.5% by value and 8.3% by volume.
The ONS reported that non-food stores’ volumes rose by 2% “because of growth in clothing stores (2.9%) and other non-food stores (2.8%) such as computer stores, toy stores and jewellery stores”. Retailers experienced “strong trading related to Black Friday and in the lead-up to Christmas”.
Volumes in fashion stores “were above pre-coronavirus levels for the first time” at 3.2% ahead of February 2020.
Food store volumes edged down 0.2% over the month but were still 3.2% ahead of February 2020
Online accounted for 26.9% of November sales, the lowest proportion since March 2020. The ONS said it was ”a continuation of a falling trend since its peak in February 2021”.
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