LONDON (Reuters] -Shoppers looking for Christmas clothes and auction houses in Britain boosted British retail sales by more than anticipated last month, adding to the recent indications that the economy is slowing down.

The Office for National Statistics reported that retail sales volume increased 0.8% month-over-month in October. According to Reuters, there was a 0.5% increase in retail sales volume month over month according to economists.

Non-food retail sales growth saw the greatest contribution from second-hand merchandise stores. This includes auction houses and charity shops.

The ONS reported that clothing stores saw a 6.2% increase in sales over the past month. Some retailers have indicated that they believed early Christmas trading had helped boost their sales.

Separate ONS numbers showed that the UK’s public sector net borrowing was at 18.799 trillion pounds (£25.38 billion) for October. That is more than what economists had predicted in a Reuters poll, which measured 13.8 billion pounds.

An increase in the Bank of England’s Term Funding Scheme, which supports lending, saw public sector cash needs jump to 61.452billion pounds in October from 6.061billion pounds in September.