Total retail spend over the crucial Christmas period is expected to rise just 2 per cent to £82.3 billion.

The spend increase will be driven mainly by food price inflation, according to research from Verdict.

Total food and grocery expenditure is set to rise by 5.7 per cent for the last quarter of the year whilst non-food sales will remain negative at -0.2 per cent.

Verdict lead analyst Maureen Hinton said: “The toughest trading ever will be next year, especially after Christmas when consumers will stop spending.”

“It will be survival of the fittest,” she added.

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