UK retail sales sink in December on Omicron fears

LONDON: British retail sales slid in December, as consumers shunned the high street due to concerns over the Omicron coronavirus variant, official data showed on Friday.

Total sales volumes dropped 3.7 per cent last month compared to November, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said in a statement.

Sales had risen by one per cent in November as some consumers snapped up early gifts for the festive season amid fears over supply-chain problems.

“After strong pre-Christmas trading in November, retail sales fell across the board in December with feedback from retailers suggesting Omicron impacted on footfall,” noted Heather Bovill, ONS deputy director for surveys and economic indicators.

“As (Covid) restrictions in England meant more people working from home, there was a notable fall for fuel sales,” she said, adding that one quarter of sales were now online.

The ONS added, however, that retail sales are currently 2.6 per cent higher than their pre-pandemic level.

“December’s retail story was exactly the tale stores didn’t want told,” said AJ Bell analyst Danni Hewson.

“As concern about Omicron knocked consumer confidence and left high streets eerily empty considering the time of year, the sound of tills ringing grew, if not silent, certainly quiet.”

Consumer confidence was also hit in December as the Bank of England ramped up interest rates for the first time in three years to combat surging inflation.

Official data showed this week that Britain’s inflation rate spiked to a decades-high 5.4 per cent in December, stoking fears about a cost-of-living squeeze as wages fail to keep pace.

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