Black Friday and Christmas shopping fail to boost beleaguered high streets

Grim economic data adds to second consecutive day of falling FTSE shares

High streets across the UK saw shopper numbers slump due to rail strikes and cold winter weather (PA Wire)

Black Friday and Christmas shopping failed to boost sales for Britain’s beleaguered high streets in November, according to the first of two grim economic indicators on Friday.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said that retail sales volumes dropped by 0.4 per cent last month, indicating a much weaker month than expected and following a rise of 0.9 per cent in October. Economists had predicted that sales would rise by 0.3 per cent.

Shops and businesses are “holding their breath” for better trade in December, said the British Retail Consortium.