In the three months to November 2018, the quantity bought in retail sales showed an increase of 0.4% when compared with the previous three months due to growths in non-food stores and online retailing.

The quantity bought in November 2018 when compared with October 2018 increased by 1.4%, with a strong monthly growth of 5.3% in household goods stores.

Strong growth of 5.3% in household goods stores provided the largest contribution to overall growth within non-food stores.

Retailers reported strong growth on the month due to Black Friday promotions in November, which continues the shifting pattern in consumer spending to sales occurring earlier in the year; the non-seasonally adjusted growth rate in November 2018 was 13.2% in comparison with 8.7% in November 2013.

In November 2018, online sales as a proportion of all retailing exceeded 20% for the first time, with all online retailing accounting for 21.5% of total retailing on a non-seasonally adjusted basis.