Nearly three quarters of retailers recorded positive like-for-like sales for the Christmas period, according to a report published by Deloitte.

The figures reveal a picture that is not as bleak as many had feared, with an average sales increase of 2.8 per cent for the 48 retailers surveyed.

Retailers with strong online customer bases fared the best, reporting an average increase of 52.8 per cent in online sales on the previous year, with games, books, music and video retailers recording an average sales increase of 10.3 per cent.

Out of eight categories of retailers polled, only electricals and home recorded a fall in sales, with homes reporting an average 5.8 per cent drop from the previous year.

Deloitte head of consumer business Richard Lloyd-Owen said: “As the picture from Christmas trading becomes clearer, the signs indicate that the season was not as bad as many feared. After a difficult summer, an unexpected autumn crisis and fears over the economy in 2008, consumer confidence may have been knocked, but desire to spend didn’t abate.”

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