Retail sales slow as consumers turn to pre-loved gifts for Christmas

RETAIL sales slowed in October as retailers brace themselves for consumers opting for pre-loved gifts and strict budgets this Christmas to cope with soaring bills.

Retail sales during October grew by just over 1% in value year on year, driven by inflationary pressures and masking falling sales volumes as shoppers bought fewer items per visit, British Retail Consortium (BRC) figures show.

It came as separate figures from Barclaycard also showed that card spending was up 3.5% on last October - higher than September’s 1.8% but well below the 8.8% rise in consumer inflation.

The BRC-KPMG retail sales monitor for October revealed that total sales grew by 1.6% over the month, compared with 1.3% in the same period last year.

This is below the three-month average of 1.7% and the 12-month average growth of 2.7%.

Sales across almost every category online and in store fell year on year as consumers adjust to shrinking household incomes.

Furniture, food and health products saved the day on the high street as shoppers prepared for colder days at home but online retailers saw sales decline in every category apart from furniture as consumers headed to bricks and mortar shops more frequently in search of bargains.

BRC chief executive Helen

Dickinson said: “With November Black Friday sales just around the corner, many people look to be delaying spending, particularly on bigger purchases.

“Clothing and footwear, which saw stronger sales this year, declined as the mild weather meant customers held back on buying winter outfits.’’