Retail’s Golden Quarter got off to a rocky start as cautious consumers lead to weaker sales in November.
The latest figures from the British Retail Consortium (BRC) show total sales dropped 3.3% in November, against a growth of 2.6% in the same month last year. This is above the 12-month average growth of 0.5%.
Food sales increased 2.4% year on year over the three months to November, against a growth of 7.6% in 2023 and below the 12-month average of 3.7%.
However, non-food sales slipped 2.1% in the three months dragged down by a 10.3% fall in online non-food sales.
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BRC chief executive Helen Dickinson said: “While it was undoubtedly a bad start to the festive season, the poor spending figures were primarily down to the movement of Black Friday into the December figures this year.
“Even so, low consumer confidence and rising energy bills have clearly dented non-food spending. Spending on fashion was particularly weak as households delayed purchases of new winter clothing, while health spending was boosted by the season’s arrival of coughs and colds.
“Retailers will be hoping that seasonal spending is delayed not diminished and that customers get spending in the remaining weeks running up to Christmas.
KPMG UK head of consumer retail and leisure Linda Ellett added: “While the majority of November’s data tells a disappointing tale for the retail sector, this reporting didn’t include Black Friday week, so the hope for retailers is that consumers were being savvy shoppers and that the promotional push in the last days of the month saw held-back consumer spend materialise and mitigate what is otherwise a disappointing month.
“If not, then we may see some retailers launching Christmas sales early.”
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