According to figures from the Confederation of British Industry (CBI), 49 per cent of retailers reported a higher volume of sales compared with November 2011 and 16 per cent said that trade was down on last year.

This left a balance of 33 per cent, above the expected 27 per cent.

Year-on-year sales improved in nine out of 13 retail sectors, with grocers reporting a third consecutive increase. Elsewhere, sales of clothing were much stronger than expected, although trade had weakened slightly compared with October.

Nevertheless, a net 15 per cent of retailers thought that the volume of sales was still below normal for the time of year – much higher than four per cent predicted.

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