Shoppers spent more in December compared with the year before, but it wasn’t enough to make up for an overall lacklustre year for retailers, new figures suggest.

Doing particularly well over Christmas were gifts including beauty advent calendars, jewellery and AI-enabled tech.  December’s growth of 3.2% was boosted by a big weekend of Black Friday sales, which are normally included in November’s figures.  With growth for the last three months of 2024 being only 0.4% higher than the previous year, it finishes a weak 12 months for retailers overall, and 2025 is likely to be challenging due to rising taxes and wage costs.

High Street fashion chain Next have indicated they would have to raise clothes prices to help offset an increase of £73m in wage costs. Meanwhile, Barclays reported that consumer spending on debit and credit cards was flat in December. People were splashing out on entertainment and leisure but this was offset by cutbacks in some essential spending.

Difficult conditions

Across the year, sales in 2024 were 0.7% higher than in 2023.  A last-minute bump in December sales came from Christmas shopping and the fact that Black Friday sale was included in the month’s figures.  Food sales fared better over the Christmas period, picking up slightly from the previous year, meanwhile beauty products, jewellery and electricals made a strong showing under the tree this year.

Overall, the last three months of last year failed to give 2024 the send-off retailers were hoping for, in a challenging year marked by weak consumer confidence and difficult economic conditions.  Shoppers will likely face higher prices and fewer discounts in the coming months.

Lower footfall

Throughout the year, the number of people going to bricks-and-mortar shops fell for the second year in a row.  Footfall dropped 2.2% in 2024, having also fallen in 2023, despite some shops taking measures to attract shoppers.  Even days considered to be bumper sales days for retailers have seen lower footfall.  In 2024, Boxing Day saw a 6.2% drop in visitors to High Streets, and a drop of 4.2% to shopping centres compared with the year before.  In 2025, New Year sales in the first five days of January saw a decline in footfall, with high streets seeing almost 4% fewer visitors than 2024. The decline was significant, worsened by travel disruptions and snowfall.