UK Retail Sales Drop in November With Stores Closed

British retail sales fell last month when a four-week lockdown in England caused stores selling non-essential goods to close, dropping clothing sales by about a fifth and adding to the hardships in some of the main stores hit hardest.

The Office for National Statistics said retail sales volumes overall fell 3.8% month-on-month in November, after a 1.3% increase in October.

Annual sales growth halved to 2.4% from 5.87%, but many economists expect a rapid recovery in December.

Retail sales are one of the few bright spots in Britain’s economy since the start of the Covid pandemic, which, according to estimates by the Bank of England, has caused the country’s economy to shrink 11% during 2020, the largest decline since 1709.

Consumer confidence showed the biggest jump in eight years as families welcome the availability of anti-virus vaccines, according to a monthly survey by market research firm GFK published earlier on Friday.

The Bank of England expects the economy to shrink by just over 1% in the fourth quarter of this year, slightly less than it had forecast a month ago but said on Thursday it expected greater disruptions than in early 2012 due to the prolonged lockdown restrictions.

Sales were mixed across retail stores, with online retail sales booming and grocery stores reporting strong results, but many clothing stores were facing difficulties due to the closure of their headquarters.

Data released today, Friday, showed that Malaya sales fell 19% on a monthly basis, the biggest decline since the isolation measures in April and about a third compared to the same period last year.

Food sales rose 3.1%, the biggest rise since a panic buying spree in March.

Fuel sales also fell 16.6% month-on-month, as fewer people drove their cars to work or pursue a leisure activity.

Online sales rose to 31.4% of total spending, the highest level since June.