Total retail sales increased by 1.2% year on year in December, against a growth of 3.2% in December 2024. This was below the 12-month average growth of 2.3%.

According to the latest figures from the British Retail Consortium (BRC), food sales increased by 3.1% year on year in December, against a growth of 1.7% in December 2024. This was below the 12-month average growth of 3.7%.

Non-Food sales decreased by 0.3% year on year in December, against a growth of 4.4% in December 2024. This was below the 12-month average growth of 1.1%.

In-Store Non-Food sales decreased by 0.5% year on year in December, against a growth of 0.4% in December 2024. This was below the 12-month average growth of 0.9%.

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Online Non-Food sales decreased by 0.1% year on year in December, against a growth of 11.1% in December 2024. This was below the 12-month average growth of 1.5%.

The online penetration rate (the proportion of Non-Food items bought online) increased to 38.6% in December from 38.5% in December 2024. This was above the 12-month average of 37.2%.

Sarah Bradbury, CEO of the Institute of Grocery Distribution (IGD) said: “December saw record Christmas grocery sales and a welcome boost in shopper confidence, as often happens during the festive season.

“However, minimal volume growth highlights that the food and drink industry is still under pressure and nearly half of shoppers told us they were more worried about the cost of Christmas this year.”

She added: “Retailers responded to shopper concerns by highlighting meal affordability and heavy discounting on fresh produce. Overall, it points to a Christmas where shoppers sought ways to celebrate whilst carefully balancing budgets.”

Helen Dickinson, BRC CEO said it “was a drab Christmas for retailers, as sales growth slowed for the fourth consecutive month”.

“While food sales rose on the back of ongoing food inflation, non-food sales fell flat in the run up to Christmas, with gifting items doing worse than expected.

“Many people were clearly holding out for discounts, with the last week showing significant growth off the back of Boxing Day and beginning of the January sales. Despite the disappointing December, 2025 saw stronger sales growth overall, as non-food recovered from its 2024 decline.”