Food sales fall back as other retail rises

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Food store sales fell in October, according to figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS), although overall retail sales rose.

Food sales

A sharp difference between retail sectors saw an overall 0.8% rise in retail sales driven by more spending on toys and clothes, while food sales were down by 0.3%.

Analysts said the increase in some sectors was due to early Christmas shopping and a scramble by consumers to avoid disappointment because of supply chain difficulties.

Even though food sale volumes fell, they remain 3.4% above pre-pandemic levels.

Another feature of the figures was a fall in online shopping to account for 27.3% of overall sales in October, the lowest proportion since the beginning of the pandemic.

This has been put down to more people returning to town and city centres and therefore shopping more often in person.

The figures come as inflation figures more prominently in the economy than for many years.

The headline consumer price index (CPI) rate spiked to 4.2% in October, up from 3.1% in September.

Speculation continues on whether the Bank of England will soon increase interest rates.