Retail sales fell last month when a four-week lockdown in England closed stores that sold non-essential goods, causing clothing sales to tumble by almost a fifth and adding to trouble for the hardest-hit parts of the high street.
Overall retail sales volumes dropped 3.8% on the month in November, their biggest decline since the first lockdown in April, after a 1.3% increase in October, the Office for National Statistics said.
Annual sales growth halved to 2.4% from 5.8%, but many economists predicted a rapid recovery in December.
Friday’s data showed clothing sales down 19.0% on the month, their biggest drop since April’s lockdown and almost a third lower than a year earlier. did fuel sales, which decreased by 16.6%.
Food sales rose by 3.1%, the most since March’s wave of panic-buying ,household goods stores at 1.6% was the only sector to show growth in monthly volume of sales..
Fuel sales also fell, down 16.6% on the month, as fewer people drove to work or leisure activities. Online sales rose to 31.4% of total spending, the highest since June.
“Feedback from stores is suggesting consumers brought forward their Christmas spending, particularly on festive home products and DIY,” ONS deputy national statistician Jonathan Athow said.
