Retail sales pick up in November
Retail sales in the UK rose in November helped by shoppers buying warm winter clothing with the arrival of colder weather.
Figures released by the Office for National Statistics show that retail sales volumes rose by 2% year-on-year in November. From October, sales volumes increased by 0.3% to recover from a revised 0.9% drop.
Sales of textiles, clothing and footwear climbed by 3.8% in November from October which helped offset a 3.1% fall in department stores sales. Food sales increased by 0.2%.
The ONS said the fall in department store sales was partly a reflection of the stores’ investment in their websites and a transfer of business to the internet. The online spend at department stores reached a record 11.4% in the month.
Never Miss a Retail Update!Online sales accounted for 11.9% of all retail sales in November, excluding fuel.
During the month, the amount spent in the retail industry increased by 2.7% compared with November 2012 and by 0.2% compared with October 2013.
ONS non-seasonally adjusted data also shows that small stores experienced more growth year-on-year than large stores with the amount spent in small stores up 4.5% compared with 2.9% in large stores.
