Online retailing accounted for 31.4% of total retailing, compared with 28.6% in October 2020, according to the latest figures from the ONS, with overall growth of 74.7% compared with November 2019.
As non-essential retailers were forced to closed their doors for the majority of November, particularly during the second national lockdown in England, the month saw retail sales volumes decreased by 3.8% when compared with October.
However the ONS said that despite the monthly fall, overall retail sales remained above their pre-pandemic levels. The year-on-year growth rate in the volume of retail sales increased by 2.4%.
The ONS said it had received feedback from businesses suggesting that consumers had brought forward Christmas spending.
Clothing store sales in November saw a sharp fall when compared with October, falling by 19%.
Sales in food stores rose 3.1% while household goods stores saw sales rise 1.6%. The pair were the only sectors to show growth in monthly volume of sales.
