Comment on today’s ONS retail sales figures from Ian Geddes, head of retail at Deloitte

Commenting on today’s ONS retail sales figures, Ian Geddes, head of retail at Deloitte, said:

“November has seen a surprisingly strong uplift in retail sales volumes of 5% year on year, and up 1.7% on October. Demand was buoyed by record levels of promotions, particularly across the clothing and footwear sector. While other data sets have suggested that Black Friday growth was weaker than anticipated, particularly in stores, the ONS data paints a stronger picture and suggests that retailers have managed their promotions and peak demand better than in 2014.

“Online sales are up significantly by 12.7% year on year and 4.9% compared to October 2014, and probably would have been even higher had Cyber Monday’s figures been included in November’s data. It is likely that we will see December’s online sales figures greatly benefitting from the addition, as well as online sales either side of Christmas.

“The growing, stable economy, coupled with higher wages, low interest rates and cheap fuel means that UK consumers have not had it this good for a number of years. Retailers have a unique opportunity to capitalise on this buoyant consumer confidence in the coming weeks.

“In order to maximise margins, retailers will require innovative marketing strategies and the supply chain capability to meet consumers demand for faster and flexible delivery options. With Christmas just round the corner, now is the time for the retail industry to build momentum through to the New Year in this crucial trading period.”

End

Notes to editors

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