British retail sales rebounded last month, delivering a stronger-than-anticipated performance during the crucial Christmas trading period, new official figures show. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) reported that total retail sales volumes - measuring quantities purchased - climbed by 0.4% in December.

This represents a recovery following November's 0.1% decline. Most analysts had predicted December sales would remain unchanged, according to Pantheon Macroeconomics. The improvement came amid surging online activity, with internet retailers recording a 4.4% increase - the sharpest rise since February last year - driven by robust demand for gold and silver following November's slowdown. The ONS said December's figures meant overall sales volumes for 2025 increased by 1.3%, marking the largest annual growth since 2021.

However, December's uptick couldn't compensate for October and November's respective drops of 0.8% and 0.1%, resulting in retail sales volumes falling 0.3% across the critical fourth quarter.

ONS senior statistician Hannah Finselbach said: "Sales were up in December, with internet retailing doing well. Within this, online jewellers had a strong month and told us there was higher demand for gold and silver.

"Across 2025 as a whole, retail sales saw a second consecutive annual rise after the large falls of 2022 and 2023, but volumes still remained below their pre-pandemic level."

The data revealed a modest 0.2% monthly increase in supermarket sales during December, yet confirmed a challenging Christmas period for non-food retailers, which experienced a 0.9% decline.

This marked the poorest showing for non-food stores since May of the previous year.

The findings follow recent reports from major supermarket chains and high street retailers indicating robust festive food sales driven by fierce price competition, whilst general merchandise and clothing faced considerably tougher conditions.

The ONS reported that clothing and footwear sales fell by 0.7% in December.

Numerous retail giants highlighted trading difficulties in October and November, caused by consumer hesitancy ahead of the November 26 Budget.

Jacqueline Windsor, head of retail at PwC UK, commented: "The final quarter of the year, when retailers traditionally make most of their money, was a disappointment.

"It's now clear that consumers held back in the run-up to Christmas.

"Even as budget uncertainty dissipated, shoppers did not buy as much as retailers hoped, due to the later start to Christmas shopping and factors such as higher grocery price inflation, meaning they had to divert their spending from discretionary categories to essentials."

However, GfK's consumer confidence report published separately on Friday offered optimism that expenditure might continue recovering, showing marginal improvement reflecting household "resilience". Elliott Jordan-Doak, senior UK economist at Pantheon, said additional interest rate reductions should help stimulate consumer spending throughout the coming year.

"We think consumers' spending should continue to recover in 2026 as policy uncertainty continues to ease, inflation falls, and the Monetary Policy Committee reduces interest rates in April," he said.