U.K. retail sales fell in November as shoppers stayed home during an England-wide lockdown, although the decline wasn’t as sharp as some analysts feared. The volume of sales in stores and online fell 3.8% from a month earlier, the Office for National Statistics said Friday. Economists expected a drop of 4.2%.
Retail Fortunes
Online has emerged as the big winner from the Coronavirus lockdowns
Source: Office for National Statistics
Note: February = 100
Household goods and food shops were the only areas to see their monthly sales increase in the month, “with feedback from stores suggesting consumers brought forward their Christmas spending,” according to the ONS. Clothing and footwear sales plunged by 19%.
Despite the tough times, a separate report on consumer confidence showed optimism was returning in the run-up to the holidays, peak season for retailers, after the launch of a national vaccination program.
“Many might be surprised that we are ending 2020 on a much brighter note after a rollercoaster of a year”, said Joe Staton, a director at GfK, which publishes the sentiment index.