Black Friday fails to give expected lift to UK retailers

Retail sales in the UK rebounded in November but Black Friday price cuts did not persuade cash-strapped consumers to splash out on non-food items, a fresh survey has suggested.

A report compiled by the British Retail Consortium (BRC) and accountancy firm KPMG showed like-for-like retail sales, which strip out changes in store size, rose 0.6% compared to a year earlier in November.

That compared to a 1% decline in October. In total terms, sales were up 1.5%.

The increase was driven by sales of food items, which increased 4% in the three months to November period.

However, sales of non-food items, which were the focus of Black Friday discounts, were down 0.6%.

"Black Friday, the big retail event of the month, failed to fundamentally shift underlying trends in spending," BRC chief executive Helen Dickinson said.

"That's not to deny that Black Friday was a significant event. Sales of non-food products that week were over 40% higher than in the other weeks of the month, while it was the biggest week ever for non-food products online."

Gaming and wearable tech performed well on Black Friday, while toys, last year's top performer, saw sales drop sharply this year.

"This year's Black Friday has demonstrated that in such a tough economic environment, consumers have become ever more careful, willing to wait and deploy their discretionary income only when they see an exceptional bargain," Dickinson added.

"That heralds a challenging festive period ahead for retailers and shoppers alike."

Paul Martin, head of UK retail at KPMG, said: "Retailers will be wondering whether the juice is worth the squeeze.

"In what has been a difficult year for the industry, any growth is most welcome, but profitability is what remains paramount."

The UK's official retail sales fell 0.3% in October, the first annual fall since March 2013, with economists blaming unusually warm weather and high inflation for holding back some sales.