High street sales boosted by cold weather

London - The cold autumn weather saw UK high street sales gather momentum, with outerwear and winter fashion at the top of shopper's lists.

Retail sales volumes grew at the fastest pace for over a year in the 12 months to November, according to the latest CBI quarterly Distributive Trades Survey.

The survey of 126 firms, of which 61 were retailers, showed that sales volumes for the time of year were considered well above average and are expected to grow at a broadly similar pace in December.

The volume of orders placed upon suppliers inched up for the first time in eight months with a further slight increase expected for the year to December.

The increase in retail sales volumes was driven by the clothing which also saw growth in internet sales volumes. The forecast for December is for sales to be the strongest in two years.

"Shoppers stocking up their winter wardrobe has helped to boost sales"

Rain Newton-Smith, CBI Chief Economist, said: “It’s great to see retailers reporting such a buoyant month for sales. With the later onset of cold weather, shoppers stocking up their winter wardrobe has helped to boost high street sales. While we expect to see decent growth in the near term, retailers are keeping a close eye on price rises coming down the track and the impact on consumer spending.”

Some of the finding in the monthly survey included:

1. 42 percent of retailers said that sales volumes were up in November on a year ago, while 16 percent said they were down, giving a balance of +26 percent, the strongest survey balance since September 2015. This was marginally above expectations (+21 percent), and a slight improvement on the previous month’s balance (+21 percent).

2. 39 percent of respondents expect sales volumes to increase next month, with 16 percent expecting a decrease, giving a balance of +23 percent.

3. 31 percent of retailers placed more orders with suppliers than they did a year ago, whilst 24 percent placed fewer orders, giving a rounded balance of +6 percent, the strongest survey balance since December 2015.

Online sales rose 51 percent on-year for the survey conducted between October 27 and November 14, so Black Friday figures were not included.

Photo credit: CBI Distributive Trades Survey