Black Friday sales bailed out retailers last month but rivals are cutting prices at the fastest rate for almost two years, official figures showed on Thursday.
Retail sales were up 1.4% in November after two months of decline, bolstered by the online bonanza. But the Office for National Statistics deflator — its measure of how fast retailers have raised their prices in the past year — sank to 0.5%, the weakest since January 2017.
That was “evidence that retailers sought to entice consumers with serious discounting”, according to EY Item Club senior economist Howard Archer.
The figures come after a shock profit warning from online firm Asos this week and doom-laden talk of a “nightmare November” from Sports Direct billionaire Mike Ashley.
Household goods stores were the strongest performers, with sales up 5.3% on the month.
Capital Economics expects household spending to rise next year — assuming a Brexit deal — but said: “Sales in December may be a little weaker if consumers have brought forward some holiday spending.
“With pay growth on the up, there should be scope for consumer spending growth to gather some momentum.”
