Christmas sales in the UK were stronger than retailers had “dared hope for”, according to figures by the British Retail Consortium (BRC).
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Retailers enjoyed their strongest December sales growth since 2005, the BRC said, as like-for-like sales rose 4.2% for the five weeks from to 2 January, boosted by a rebound in consumer confidence.
On a total basis, sales rose 6% against a 1.4% decline in December 2008.
Food sales growth also picked up to its strongest since June, the BRC reported today (12 January), partly reflecting higher food price inflation.
“These are stronger figures than we dared hope for,” said Stephen Robertson, director general of the BRC. “After a surprisingly muted November, this is the best total sales growth for a December since 2005 and goes well beyond just making up for the sales fall the sector suffered a year ago.”
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By GlobalDataHe added: “Sales growth was also helped by the VAT cut dropping out of the 12-month comparison, December being the first and only month where the 15 per cent rate is the same as a year earlier.”
However, Robertson said that with customers now “reacquainting themselves” with concerns about jobs and tax rises there is a risk that a healthy December may be only a “temporary respite on the painful road to recovery”.
The BRC report comes after a string of upbeat Christmas trading reports from retailers.
Tesco this morning reported its “strongest” Christmas in three years, boosted by a raft of price cuts and a surge in the use of Clubcard vouchers.
The Co-operative Group also saw like-for-like sales increase 4.8% boosted by price cuts and promotions over the Christmas period.
Sainsbury’s claimed a “record” performance over the festive period with a rise in like-for-like sales of 3.7%.
