It seems a stand-off is building between consumers and retailers as shoppers wait to see if businesses cut prices further ahead of Christmas.

New figures from the Office for National Statistics showed retail sales came in weaker than expected in November, making a fourth quarter contraction in the economy look ever more likely.

They compound recent statistics from business lobby group, the CBI, which showed that the first two weeks of December saw cautious consumers reigning in on spending.

Figures from the British Retail Consortium revealed that in the second week of December footfall was down 2.6%, albeit against strong comparators.

However, that figure was up 3.3% on the week before.

Thursday's ONS statistics showed there was no change compared to the quantity of goods bought in October and a fall of 0.1% in the amount spent the previous month.

This followed falls in both the quantity bought and the amount spent between September and October, when sales were down 0.7%.

Analysts had predicted the volume of goods bought would rise 0.3% in November.

The ONS said the quantity of goods bought in the retail sector increased by 0.9% when compared to the year before.

This was considerably lower than the 1.5% growth that economists has pencilled in.

The amount spent was estimated to have increased by 1.5% compared to November 2011, the survey of 5,000 retailers showed.

The ONS said when fuel was stripped out sales rose 0.1% on the month and were 2.0% higher than in November 2011.

However, this still compared poorly with forecasts for a 0.4% increase on the month and a 2.3% rise on the year.

Dr Howard Archer, Chief UK Economist at IHS, said a serious battle of wills may well be taking place between consumers and retailers.

"Many consumers may be holding off from doing their Christmas shopping until virtually the last moment in the hope that worried retailers will offer more and more discounts and promotions," he said.

"However, many retailers may be reluctant to do so due to the hit that their margins will take and are holding firm in the hope that many consumers will buy at the last minute."

One highlight was household goods stores, which includes electronics such as tablet computers.

The sector saw a 3.6% increase in the quantity of goods bought and a 2% rise the amount spent compared to the year before.

Department stores saw a 5.8% increase in the quantity of goods bought and people spent 3.9% more in the process.

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