Anyone looking for good news from UK retail will be disappointed to read BDO latest High Street Sales Tracker as the headline on the release gives it away: “Dismal December”.
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Yes, the accountancy firm’s regular monthly tracker said that December marked the worst set of total monthly sales figures since November 2024. High street stores suffered a sales decline in discretionary categories of 0.5% compared to same month in 2025 just at a time when, traditionally, sales should have been rising.
Total like-for-like retail sales dropped by 1.4% in December and sales volumes across the crucial Golden Quarter were significantly down on the same period last year.
As mentioned, in-store sales fell by 0.5% while online sales dropped by 0.6%, compared to December 2024, as sales volumes declined across channels. This followed disappointing sales figures in November and October, when high street stores recorded below-inflation sales rises.
As for fashion specifically, total like-for-like sales fell by 2.3% in the month from a positive base of +8.8% for the same month last year. And in-store fell by 0.2% from a positive base of +1.5% a year ago.
Fashion sales were negative in all but the third week of December, but even in week three they only enjoyed muted growth, up 0.37%.
Non-store fashion sales were positive in the first and third weeks, but suffered deep falls in weeks two and three, down 9.41% and 4.04%, respectively.
That said, in terms of Golden Quarter fashion, December was the only negative month for the category, thanks to strong non-store sales, particularly in November.
Sophie Michael, Head of Retail and Wholesale at BDO, said: “After a challenging year, retailers were very much hoping for a strong end to 2025. Instead, we’ve seen a downward trend since early in the year and the worst monthly performance since November 2024.
“With a late Budget bringing economic uncertainty, the sector saw a disappointing October and November. Retailers were expecting some of the lost sales to be made up in the final weeks leading to Christmas, but December failed to generate some much-needed festive cheer.
“Due to persistent food inflation and high living costs, consumers reduced their discretionary spending over the Christmas period, focusing on festive food, drinks and experiences instead of products. Continued economic uncertainty and low consumer confidence were also driving down spending.
“This creates further concerns for retailers as we move into 2026. Many will still have significant volumes of leftover stock but if they discount too heavily, they risk destroying their already squeezed margins.”
