The volume of goods bought during October rose by 7.4% compared with last year, according to the Office for National Statistics, the highest rate of growth since April 2002.

Quantities bought were up 1.9% on September, with increases in all store types except department stores. The underlying pattern in the retail industry continued to show growth with the three month on three month movement for the 34th consecutive month.

Average store prices fell by 0.7% compared with the same month last year, with falls across all store types except petrol stations. The amount spend in retail increased by 6.6% compared with October 2015 and 2.1% compared with September 2016.

Online spend increased 26.8% compared with Octber 2015 and 1.3% compared with September 2016.

Looking at the household goods stores sector, quantity bought was up 1.6% on last year, with amount spent going up by 1.2% and average store prices coming down by -0.6%.

In terms of online trading, household goods stores saw 42.1% year-on-year growth, making up 10.2% of sales as a proportion of all retailing.