Surprise fall in retail sales on
high street

The high street suffered a slump in October as official figures showed a surprise 0.7 per cent fall in retail sales compared with the previous month.

Price increases slowed but it was not enough to prevent the decline in volumes. It was a worse than expected performance, as analysts had been expecting sales to be flat, stoking fears that retail will drag down overall growth for the economy in the current quarter.

The disappointing data appear to reflect comments by fashion retailers such as Topshop owner Arcadia and New Look that sales of winter clothing ranges were hit by a mild start to the autumn.

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The figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed non-food sales falling 1.3 per cent by volume.

Within this, textile, clothing and footwear stores saw volumes drop by 2.8 per cent. Household goods stores saw a 1.2 per cent fall, despite the pick-up in the housing market.