LONDON (Reuters) - A "Black Friday" shopping frenzy pushed British retail sales growth to a 27-year high in December, according to an industry survey on Friday.
The Confederation of British Industry's distributive trades survey's retail sales balance soared to +61 in December, the highest reading since January 1988, and a marked rise from November's +27.
Strong economic growth and a recent drop in the price of essentials such as food and fuel appears to be finally starting to translate into higher spending on big-ticket items by many households, after years of falls in disposable income.
The CBI started surveying retailers just before the U.S.-style Black Friday promotions took place on Nov. 28, and finished on Dec. 11.
"The strongest sales growth for a quarter of a century is a big boost for retailers as they head towards the climax of the crucial pre-Christmas trading period," said Barry Williams, an executive at Wal-Mart's Asda brand who chairs the CBI survey.
"But shoppers may have caught the Christmas bug early and brought some of their spending forward. This has been a tough year for many retailers and parts of the sector are still struggling."
Grocers enjoyed the strongest rate of growth, while furniture stores also performed well.
The CBI's measure of expected sales in the month ahead fell slightly to +35 from +38.
The survey chimed with official data on Thursday that showed Black Friday discounts drove British retail sales growth to a 10-year high.
(Reporting by Andy Bruce; Editing by Crispian Balmer)