Sales from Black Friday weekend helped lift retail figures in November, according to the latest official figures.
The Office of National Statistics (ONS) figures revealed that retail sales volumes in November were up 1.6 percent from a year previously, and contrasting a relatively flat performance in the month of October.
Customers increasingly took online avenues, spending 4.7 percent more in the shops and online than in November 2016.
On a monthly basis, sales volumes were 1.1 percent higher than in October, including a 2.9 percent lift in sales of household goods stores as shoppers snapped up electrical items.
This follows estimations that UK shoppers were set to spend £10 billion in the week of Black Friday, a sale event concept imported from the U.S
Despite the encouraging performance, Lisa Hooker, consumer markets leader at PwC warned of colder December weather impacting profits.
She said, “After a disappointing October, it’s good to see retail sales picking up again in November. It was a month of two halves, with a slow start followed by sales ramping up in the final few weeks as retailers kicked off their Black Friday and Christmas promotional activity in earnest.
“Given the continued resilience of consumer sentiment, we’re optimistic that Christmas shopping sales in December will hold up. However, one immediate risk is the weather – snow and freezing conditions dissuaded many shoppers from hitting the high street over the past week, and also delayed the deliveries of some online orders.
The somewhat promising retail figures come ahead of the Bank of England’s interest decision decision today.