Retail sales slumped in November ahead of the Budget and Black Friday.

Retail sales fell 1.1 per cent in October, following a 0.7 per cent rise last month, in a “disappointing” start to the all-important festive season ahead of the budget next week.

Sales in clothing were particularly affected as shoppers took a more cautious approach, with spending “constrained by consumer nervousness amid mixed messaging from a Chancellor still weighing up her fiscal headroom,” Erin Brookes, European Retail and Consumer Lead at Alvarez & Marsal, said.

The late November budget, as well as talk of income tax rises, has dented consumer confidence this Autumn.

The GfK consumer confidence barometer has shown the overall index falling to -19 in November, with Brits less hopeful about their personal fin

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