Shoppers spend less in stores at Christmas

Shoppers cut down on how much they bought and the amount they spent at the end of last year, new figures show.

In the three months to December, the amount spent and quantity bought fell 0.9% and 1%, respectively, compared with the previous three months, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said.

Rhian Murphy, ONS head of retail sales, said: “Retail sales fell sharply in the latest three months, with almost all sectors showing a decline.

The longer-term picture is still one of growth, although it has slowed considerably in recent months.

“December was the fifth consecutive month with no growth as food stores suffered particularly poor sales, showing the steepest fall for three years.”

The worst-performing sector was textiles, clothing and footwear, with quantity bought down 2%, followed closely by department stores and food shops, down 1.8% in December compared with a month earlier.

Online sales continued to outperform the high street, but there was a significant slowdown, with growth of just 1.6% in December compared with the previous month.

Richard Lim, chief executive of Retail Economics, said: “Shoppers’ propensity to spend remained weak as uncertainty around Brexit and a weaker economy has severely undermined their confidence.”

However, the figures strip out the effects of one of the busiest shopping days of the year.

Black Friday fell six days later last year than it had in 2018, pushing it into the period that the ONS measures for December’s statistics.

The statisticians removed the effects on the shops that discount the most on Black Friday.

However, some sectors, such as essential supermarket products, tend not to be affected by the sales.

Last week, the British Retail Consortium (BRC) released figures showing retail sales had dropped for the first time on record.

Retail spending fell by 0.1% in 2019, according to its figures, compared with 1.2% growth in 2018.

No Christmas cheer for retailers. Picture: PA.