High Street Sales Up!

High street sales were higher than expected in November, to the relief of shopkeepers.
Retail sales rose 0.6% on the month against expectations of a modest rise of 0.1% and after two straight months of falls.
October's 0.4% fall was revised down slightly to a drop of 0.5%. 
That brought the annual rate of growth in sales up to 6.1%, showing that consumers were hitting the shops in force running into Christmas. 
Internet retailers showed strong growth on a year ago while mail order sales were down, the ONS also said. 
Christmas is the time of year when many retailers rake in a large sum of their yearly sales. 
The three month on three month rate of growth in retail sales, which is a better gauge of the trend, was up 1.3%, higher than the 1.2% previously. 
But in a sign that price competition is still tough on the High Street, the retail sales deflator slipped to -1.5% on the year in November from -1.4%. 
Household goods and clothing and footwear saw particularly large price falls in November, the ONS said. 
November's monthly sales increase was driven particularly by household goods stores, clothing and footwear stores and food stores, the ONS said.