British retailers faced a disappointing November with the shift in Black Friday promotions to December 2024 and weakening consumer confidence, according to the British Retail Consortium (BRC) and KPMG data.
During the four weeks from 27 October to 23 November 2024, UK total retail sales decreased by 3.3% year-on-year (YoY), a stark contrast to the growth of 2.6% observed in the same month of the previous year.
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November’s figure was below the three-month average growth of -0.1% and the 12-month average growth of 0.5%.
Food sales over the three months to November saw a YoY increase of 2.4% – lower than the robust 7.6% growth recorded in November of the previous year.
Non-food sales, however, experienced a decline of 2.1% over the same three-month period – above the 12-month average drop.
In-store non-food sales also witnessed a decrease of 2.2% YoY over the three months to November, contrasting with the previous year’s increase.
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By GlobalDataOnline non-food sales took a significant hit with a 10.3% drop compared to 2023, falling well below both the three-month and 12-month average declines.
The online penetration rate for non-food items declined slightly to 40.6% in November 2024 from 41.4% in November of the previous year, but remained above the 12-month average rate.
British Retail Consortium chief executive Helen Dickinson said: “While it was undoubtedly a bad start to the festive season, the poor spending figures were primarily down to the movement of Black Friday into the December figures.
Even so, low consumer confidence and rising energy bills have clearly dented non-food spending. Spending on fashion was particularly weak as households delayed purchases of new winter clothing, while health spending was boosted by the season’s arrival of coughs and colds.
“Retailers will be hoping that seasonal spending is delayed not diminished and that customers get spending in the remaining weeks running up to Christmas. If not, retailers will be feeling the squeeze from both sides as reduced revenues are met with huge additional costs next year. The [October 2024] Budget, as well as the introduction of new packaging levies, will cost retailers over £7bn extra next year. How effectively the government works the industry to mitigate these costs will determine the extent of price rises and job losses in the future.”
