SHOPKEEPERS in the Bradford district are rubbing their hands at the prospect of a bumper Christmas period as till bells ring and figures show retail sales climbed at their strongest pace for 11 months in November, boosted by the 'Black Friday' surge.

Traders are also hoping to benefit from people returning to the high street due to severe delivery delays in delivering internet purchases generated by Black Friday orders.

Catherine Riley, manager of Bradford's Kirkgate Centre, said footfall was buoyant and she expects higher numbers to take advantage of late evening openings over the weekend and until 5pm on Christmas Eve - when a rush of last minute buyers is anticipated.

Bradford outstripped the national sales boom on Black Friday when UK-wide high street sales volume rose by 1.6 per cent.

At the Kirkgate Centre sales were more than six per cent higher than a year ago.

Mrs Riley said: " The centre's shops are enjoying busy trading and footfall is buoyant. We expect a very busy few days in the run-up to Christmas as many people seem to be holding fire before buying presents or will return to the high street because they fear ordering online due to delivery delays."

Val Summerscales, Bradford Chamber of Trade secretary, said feedback from across the district was positive .

She said: " Local high street traders are benefitting from shoppers' concerns over internet ordering due to delivery problems. As people use high street shops they also appreciate seeing and touching the goods and the personal service available with more people deciding to buy things there and then rather than wait .

"Tomorrow has been dubbed 'Panic Saturday' and if that turns into a big day for local retailers then that would be brilliant. "

According to the Office of National Statistics, sales volumes grew as retailers stepped up their pre-Christmas offers, the biggest increase since a 2.7 per cent boom in December last year.

There was growth in all types of stores for the first time since last December.

Year-on-year growth of 6.4 per cent was the best since May 2004, although last year's November figures did not include Black Friday trading.

Average store prices were down two per cent compared with the same month last year, the largest fall since August 2002.

Black Friday helped electrical appliance sales increase by 32 per cent compared a year earlier, though by value they were up 21.5 per cent , showing the impact of discounting in shifting stock.

Grocers saw a 1.5 per cent year-on-year increase, much smaller than the other sectors but the best figure in seven months, during a tough period for supermarkets.

Online rose by 2.9 per cent month on month in November and 12.9 per cent year on year.

Average weekly spend in the retail sector was £7.9 billion in November.

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