Shoppers held back on Black Friday spending in November and budget uncertainty hit consumer confidence
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Retail sales unexpectedly slumped in the crucial run-up to Christmas, as cash-strapped shoppers held back on Black Friday spending, and uncertainty before the budget dampened consumer confidence.
Sales volumes in Great Britain fell 0.1% month on month in November, according to official figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
Economists had been expecting sales growth of 0.4% compared with October, fuelled by the annual Black Friday sales bonanza.
