United Kingdom Retail Sales Mom

Retail sales in the UK edged up 0.2% month-over-month in November 2024, rebounding from a 0.7% fall in October but below forecasts of 0.5%. Growth in sales at food stores (0.5%), mostly supermarkets and other non-food stores (0.2%) was partly offset by a fall in clothing retailers (-2.6%), which pushed volumes to their lowest level since January 2022, with retailers reporting that economic factors were affecting sales. Black Friday, officially observed on November 29th, fell outside the ONS reporting period, meaning its significant impact will only be reflected in the December report. However, some retailers reported that Black Friday sales started well in advance of the official day. Year-on-year, retail sales rose 0.5%, below 2% in October and forecasts of 0.8%.