Retail sales in 2020 see biggest fall since records began

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British retail sales saw their largest annual fall in history last year as the impact of the pandemic took its toll.

Sales fell by 1.9% in 2020, when compared with 2019, the largest year-on-year fall since records began in 1997,

official figures show.

Clothes shops were hit hard, with a record annual fall of more than 25%.

The drop came despite a slight pick-up in December, as a brief easing of some lockdown measures meant more stores were able to open.

Retail sales, including fuel, increased by 0.3% last month when compared with November.

The small increase came despite the end of England's national lockdown on 2 December. Sales had slumped by 2.6% in November during a month-long shutdown.

"During December, there was initially a period of eased restrictions early in the month, however, there followed a number of tighter restrictions to non-essential retail in England, Scotland and Wales later in the month," the ONS said.

"Feedback from retailers suggested that these enforced closures later in the month affected turnover, though not to the same extent as witnessed in November."

And while clothing retailers fared particularly badly overall in 2020, they saw the largest monthly growth in December at 21.5%.

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January 22, 2021 at 07:28PM

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-55762644