Retail sector has that flat feeling

The latest figures from the British Retail Consortium showed that UK retail sales rose just 0.3 per cent on a like-for-like basis from December 2011, when they were up 2.2 per cent.

Total growth for December failed to beat inflation, which stands at 2.7 per cent.

Online sales rose 17.8 per cent, the fastest growth since December 2011.

Helen Dickinson, director general of the British Retail Consortium, said: “Against the relentlessly tough economic backdrop and low expectations, these results are not a cause for celebration, but not a disaster either.”

She said that online was the stand-out performer, showing its highest rate of growth this year.

“Shoppers are increasingly taking advantage of the convenience that online shopping offers at every stage of the customer journey, from comparing prices to reserving and collecting in-store,” she added.

David McCorquodale, head of retail at KPMG, said: “A flat end to a flat year is perhaps the best way to describe the Christmas trading for 2012. Despite mild, albeit wet, weather for the whole of the last quarter and an extra full weekend immediately prior to Christmas, the final quarter saw total sales rise only 1.5 per cent on the previous year and like-for-likes rise by only 0.2 per cent.”