The British Retail Consortium, a trade body representing major high street retailers, said total sales in November were 5.0% higher than a year earlier, the biggest annual increase since July and a rise 1.3% in October.
Separate credit and debit card data from payments provider Barclaycard showed consumer spending – which includes things like dining out and travel, as well as shopping – was 16.0% higher than in November 2019, before the pandemic.
Consumer demand has been quite resilient in Britain during the pandemic as household incomes have been supported by government measures. But there have been big shifts within sectors – with much retail spending moving online, and only partially reversing when stores reopened.
Travel remains depressed, with spending on plane tickets 22.1% below its level two years ago. Spending on restaurants was down 4.3% from November 2019, compared to an 8.3% shortfall in October, according to Barclaycard data.
Overall non-essential spending grew at its fastest pace since the start of the pandemic, up 17.7% from two years earlier.
However, economists predict that household disposable income will be increasingly restricted in the coming months, with the continuation of the rise in inflation and the increase in social charges from April, which will complicate the task of the Bank of England, which is to consider raising interest rates next week.
BRC chief executive Helen Dickinson said the increase in spending in November partly reflected Black Friday promotions, which started earlier in the month than in previous years.
“As people prepared their wardrobes for the cold weather this winter, consumers took advantage of discounted clothing, shifting the focus of Black Friday away from electronics and appliances,” she said. declare.
Like-for-like sales, a measure that takes into account changes in retailer selling space, were up 1.8% year-on-year, compared to a 0.2% decline in October.
According to Barclaycard, four in ten consumers surveyed said they were doing their Christmas shopping earlier than before.
“The arrival of Christmas markets and illuminations across the UK brought some festive cheer to the retail, leisure and hospitality sectors in November, while the return of darker nights and colder evenings has allowed Britons to spend more on activities at home,” said Jose Carvalho, director of Barclaycard. (Reporting by David Milliken, editing by William Schomberg)