Black Friday discounts encouraged British consumers to increase their spending on the high street and online in

November, despite the most protracted squeeze on household income in memory.

Officials at the Office for National Statistics said the American-inspired promotional event had helped drive a 1.1%
increase in the number of goods bought last month compared with October, with sales of electrical household
appliances making the biggest contribution to growth. City economists had forecast growth of 0.4%.

The figures suggest consumers are willing to keep spending, driven by the higher cost of importing goods to the UK
as a consequence of the pound’s weakness since the Brexit vote.

Households are also coming under pressure from weak wage growth, despite record levels of unemployment in
the UK and falling net migration, which should be acting to drive up the bargaining power of British workers to
demand higher wages as firms face labour shortages.

According to the Resolution Foundation thinktank, average annual pay when taking account of inflation may not
return to its pre-financial crisis peak until at least 2025.

Economists warned that stronger spending growth may be coming at the expense of household savings as a result
of rising prices and weaker earnings growth. Households also run the risk of borrowing more to keep up with the
rise in the cost of living.

Still, the sales figures are encouraging for the health of the economy, providing a shot in the arm for retailers hit
by higher inflation driving up their costs and potentially discouraging propers. Economists said the sales increase
would help boost GDP growth in the final three months of the year.

The Bank of England is likely to take comfort from the unexpected stronger growth in consumption, after raising
interest rates for the first time in a decade last month to curb rising inflation. The Bank argued the growth potential
of the economy before prices began to spiral had fallen since the Brexit vote.

Threadneedle Street left interest rates on hold on Thursday after the first meeting of its monetary policy committee
since November’s rate hike – in line with expectations from City economists. However, the Bank said it still saw the
need for “further modest increases” over the next few years to get inflation down to its target rate of 2%.

The consumer price index (CPI) measure of inflation rose to 3.1% in November, the highest level in almost six years,
forcing Mark Carney, the Bank’s governor, to write a letter to the chancellor, Philip Hammond, to explain why
inflation was more than one percentage point higher than the official target.

Non-food sales rose 1.5% in November from the previous month, while household goods sales – which includes
electrical appliances in hot demand over Black Friday – were up 2.9%. There was a 1.4% rise in sales of textiles,
clothing and footwear, while food sales increased by 0.6%.

The monthly sales figures also show the increasing importance of online shopping in the UK, with an increase in
average weekly spending of 10.2% compared with a year ago. Internet sales account for 17% of the retail sector,
excluding automotive fuel, compared with 16.1% a year ago.

There are, however, warnings that the Black Friday lift could be short-lived because the sales encourage consumers
to finish their Christmas shopping earlier in the year, which could lead to weaker sales in the traditional boom
month of December.

The British Retail Consortium warned there was a general downward trend for the growth in the quantity of goods
sold – compared with their monetary value – in 2017, cautioning that Christmas and the new year were likely to be
a testing time for the high street.

Ruth Gregory, a UK economist at the consultancy Capital Economics, said: “Black Friday discounting has generally
led consumers to do their Christmas shopping earlier than usual, rather than making many additional purchases.
So some weakening in December seems likely.”
TRUE OR FALSE. Justify your answers.

1. Black Friday discounts make people buy more things online rather than in physical stores.

FALSE - Black Friday discounts encouraged British consumers to increase their spending on the high street and online
in November, despite the most protracted squeeze on household income in memory.

2. Black Friday originated in England and has been exported to the rest of the world.

FALSE - Officials at the Office for National Statistics said the American-inspired promotional event had helped…

3. The Brexit vote may have affected the British will of expending money, but it didn’t.

TRUE - The figures suggest consumers are willing to keep spending, driven by the higher cost of importing goods to
the UK as a consequence of the pound’s weakness since the Brexit vote.

4. Specialists in economy pointed out that due to things being more expensive and people earning less, family
savings could be affected if spending rose.

TRUE - Economists warned that stronger spending growth may be coming at the expense of household savings as a
result of rising prices and weaker earnings growth. Households also run the risk of borrowing more to keep up with
the rise in the cost of living.

5. Black Friday may lead to fewer sales in December.

TRUE - however, warnings that the Black Friday lift could be short-lived because the sales encourage consumers to
finish their Christmas shopping earlier in the year, which could lead to weaker sales in the traditional boom month of
December.

ANSWER THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS (with your own words)  En esta quiero leer vuestra opinión sobre lo que os
pregunto. NO ES como la pregunta 2 de EVAU, aunque obviamente, os vais a tener que basar en el texto.

1- Would you say that the British economy is improving or getting worse? Why?

I think the economy in the UK is still worrying but it seems to be improving little by little

2- How do you think Brexit is going to affect (or has affected) British economy?

With Brexit is created an uncertainty that limits investment decisions of companies and family spending.

3- What is your opinion on online shopping?

In my opinion online shopping is an easier method. You can buy without having to go to the physical store

4- Do you think online shopping will ever take the place of physical stores? Justify.

No, because there are people who hate buying online. People prefer to see what they buy and try it on.

FIND SYNONYMS for the following words.

BUYERS consumers RISE/BOOST increase LARGEST biggest

PREDICTED SALARY income DECREASING discounting
BUSINESSES MAXIMUM highest ALERTED warned
TEN YEARS decade STOP finish DESCENDING down

WRITE 4 SENTENCES USING THE WORDS IN COLUMN 3. (Take risks)

1. We can’t rise/boost /increase the price of the product

2. This month's salary/ income has been very low
3. 50 years is the maximum/highest prison sentence
4. Please stop/finish raising the prices