December numbers are the worst since 2008, says new BDO report.
Canny shoppers and freak weather resulted in the worst Christmas trading figures on the high street since 2008, according to BDO.
The company’s monthly High Street Sales Tracker recorded a 5.3% drop in year on year sales for December.
Sales of lifestyle goods were down 3.7% year on year, with fashion stores seeing a like for like sales drop of 5.4%.
Homewares, however, did see 16% growth, while the index for non-store sales, while positive (+7.5%), grew at the slowest rate since BDO’s records for these type of sales began in 2010.
A rally between Christmas Eve and Boxing Day stopped the figures from being worse. However the last week of the month still dropped 2.6% compared to the same week the previous year.
“Many retailers had held out for a last minute sales Christmas rush that never arrived,” said Sophie Michael, head of retail and wholesale at BDO.
“People have been much savvier about bargain hunting this year. After Black Friday, many shoppers seem to have sat tight and waited for the sales to start on December 25.
“Early indications are that activity in January strengthened, so retailers will be hoping they can claw back some ground in the traditional January sales period, but it’s clear the overall picture is one of reduced spending.”
