It was spend, spend, spend in Britain in October as retail sales surged by 1.9 percent from the previous month.<br /><br /> Clothing flew off the racks as the weather turned colder and people were not scared to splash out on Halloween related items.<br /><br /> Consequently, annual sales growth was the highest in over 14 years, jumping 7.4 percent from October last year. <br /><br /> And it was not just increased footfall in the stores as internet orders saw their strongest growth in five years – up by 26.8 percent from a year earlier.<br /><br /> Online spending increased by 26.8% in Oct 16 compared with Oct 15, biggest year on year rise since 2011 https://t.co/aUbuZnxet4— ONS (@ONS) November 17, 2016<br /><br /> Sales volume is often volatile month to month, and clothing is particularly sensitive to the weather. But even for the three months to October as a whole sales rose 5.9 percent from last year.<br /><br /> Commenting on today’s official retail figures, Kate Davies, ONS Senior Statistician, said: pic.twitter.com/weoSlh8A4a— ONS (@ONS) November 17, 2016<br /><br /> However the Bank of England and many other economists do not think the sales surge can last as rising prices will reduce Britons’ disposable income. <br /><br /> A survey of households just before the retails sales statistics showed the greatest concern about price rises in nearly two and a half years.<br />
