October offered retailers more tricks than treats, with sales only marginally increasing compared with the same time last year.
Figures from the British Retail Consortium and KPMG show that comparable or like-for-like sales rose very slightly, by 0.1%, last month compared with the same time last year, when they had fallen 1% from the preceding year.
Total UK retail sales rose by 1.3% last month, against an increase of 0.2% at the same time last year. This is above the three-month average of 1.1% but still below the 12-month average of 1.4%.
