UK retail sales drop unexpectedly as shoppers await Black Friday and budget

Supermarkets, clothing stores and online mail order firms suffer sales declines as consumers delay purchasesBusiness live – latest updatesSales at UK retailers slumped unexpectedly last month as shoppers waited for Black Friday deals, and uncertainty over the upcoming budget dampened consumer confidence.Retail sales fell 1.1% month on month in October, the first fall since May, according to official figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS). Economists had been expecting sales