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Official data showed retail sales unexpectedly fell last month as cautious buyers prevailed and Black Friday discounts failed to boost spending ahead of Christmas.
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said the total volume of retail sales is forecast to fall by 0.1% in November.
This follows a 0.9% decline in October, and was a surprise decline as most analysts were expecting a 0.4% rise for the month.
Supermarket sales fell 0.5% in November for the fourth consecutive month, with retailers reporting fewer shoppers visiting stores.
The ONS also said that the impact of Black Friday – with discounts usually extending well beyond the typical end-of-November date – appears to be slightly weaker than usual this year.
It was a disappointing month for non-store retailers – which mainly include online shops but also vendors such as street stalls and markets – with sales falling 2.9%.
In particular, online jewelers saw a decline in demand after a period of strong interest in gold.
Hannah Finselbach, senior statistician at the ONS, said: “This year November’s Black Friday discounts did not boost sales as much as in recent years, meaning that once we adjusted for normal seasonality, our headline figures for the month were slightly lower.
“Meanwhile, our separate household survey showed that although few people said they were planning to shop more this Black Friday than last, almost twice as many said they were planning to do less.”
Still, the data showed that sales volume at department stores rose 2.3% in November, which some retailers said was down to a longer period of Black Friday discounts.
Sales at clothing and shoe stores also increased by 1.7% and sales of household goods by 1.8%.
Oliver Vernon-Harcourt, Head of Retail DeloitteSaid that a second month of sales decline “will be a major disappointment for retailers, especially as Black Friday and early Christmas shopping is captured in these figures”.
“It may be that some consumers have chosen to delay spending decisions until later Budget“But the increase in volumes at department stores, clothing and shoes and home goods suggests that the start of the discount period may have attracted consumers for month-end shopping,” he said.
He said that “the big picture of the retail sector in 2025 shows prolonged pressure from weak consumer confidence and challenging economic conditions”.
Nicholas Found, head of commercial content at Retail Economics, said the cost of living “remains a key concern for households, and retailers are now operating in an environment where winning increasingly comes at the expense of competitors”.
“The real test for retailers is before Christmas,” he said.
Alvarez and Erin Brooks, Marsal’s European retail and consumer head, agreed that the battle among retailers to attract shoppers in December will be fierce.
She said: “As the golden quarter enters its final stages, retailers will be making every effort to replace last-minute demand, as well as make clearance for categories that have not moved substantially.
“Competition for every pound of discretionary spend will be intense as the festive trading period races towards the finish line.”