Data: Shoppers hold off for Black Friday as October sales slow

UK retail sales growth slowed in October as shoppers held back discretionary purchases ahead of Black Friday, according to new data from BRC’s KPMG Retail Sales Monitor.
Figures from the latest British Retail Consortium (BRC) research revealed that total sales rose 1.6% year on year over the four weeks to 1 November, up on the 0.6% growth seen a year earlier but below the 12-month average of 2.1%.
Food sales increased 3.5%, matching their 12-month trend, while non-food inched up just 0.1%