SHOPS SALES HUGE SLUMP

Shops are banking on a Black Friday reprieve after a record slump in sales last month, figures have revealed.

Inflation and the weather both contributed, said the British Retail Consortium. Overall retail sales slipped 1%, with non-food taking the biggest hit since BRC’s records began in 2011. Food sales were up, but mainly because stores are taking more from raising prices.

BRC director general Helen Dickinson said the Bank of England rate rise “will only serve to heap further pressure onto household finances”. Richard Lim, chief executive of executive industry experts Retail Economics, warned the “feeble” results were likely to set the tone for Christmas trading.

Barclaycard figures showed households cut their spending on clothing by 4.1% last month, the biggest drop since March 2013.

One reason for the fall was unseasonably warm weather, it said.