Black Friday bargain hunters send tills ringing

Bargain-hungry shoppers bolstered retail takings last month, with non-food sales jumping 40% during the week including Black Friday.

The latest British Retail ConsortiumKPMG survey showed like-for-like sales rose 0.6% in November, up from a 0.4% fall last year, as the shopping extravaganza on November 25 provided a boost to stores.

Total sales climbed by 1.3% compared to a 0.7% rise in November last year as online sales of non-food products saw a third month of double-digit growth.

Helen Dickinson, chief executive of BRC, said the rise in total sales was also driven by people buying more food.

She said: “November plays host to Black Friday, which over the past few years has become one of the biggest shopping days of the year.

“This year’s event was expected to be the biggest yet, and our figures confirm that the week including Black Friday saw non-food sales up around 40% compared with the other weeks of the month.

“However, compared to last year there was more of a shift of spending from earlier in the month, with sales down on last year in the weeks prior to November 25.”

Like-for-like food sales were flat in the three months to November, while total food sales lifted 1.5%.

However, sales of non-food items saw their highest average growth since March, with total sales rising 1.7% in the three months to November.

Shoppers were predicted to go on a £1.97 billion spending spree on Black Friday, setting a new record, with more than half spent on the internet.