LONDON (dpa-AFX) - UK like-for-like sales declined ahead of festive season in November, data published by the British Retail Consortium and KPMG showed Tuesday.
Like-for-like retail sales decreased 4.9 percent on a yearly basis in November compared to the forecast of 0.4 percent drop. Total sales fell 4.4 percent from last year.
'If adjusted for the later timing of Black Friday and Cyber Monday, sales are more likely to have increased by a more palatable 0.4% like-for-like,' Paul Martin, partner, UK head of retail, KPMG, said.
Consumers will also have put Brexit and political uncertainty to one side temporarily, focusing on promotions and the upcoming festivities instead, Martin added.
As the spectre of a No Deal Brexit has been pushed back to after Christmas, consumers were more prepared to open their wallets to a little extra festive spending, Helen Dickinson, chief executive at BRC, said.
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