Online Sales Fail To Boost 'Sluggish' December

Strong online sales in December have failed to boost what has been described as an "underwhelming and sluggish" Christmas on the high street.

The British Retail Consortium (BRC) said retail sales for the month were up just 1.5% compared to the Christmas period in 2011.

However Internet sales rose by almost 18%.

If the online contribution to total year-on-year sales growth is stripped out, it shows that high street trading stagnated compared to last Christmas.

"Online retail still accounts for a relatively small part of total sales," saidBRC Director General, Helen Dickinson.

"But in December it played a disproportionately larger role in driving non-food sales.

"Shoppers took advantage of the investment many retailers have made in making their websites easier to use across multiple devices, in flexibility of delivery options as click-and-collect came of age, and in security - they now feel much more comfortable putting their credit card numbers into their mobile phones."

Pimlico-based florist, Rosemary Watkins, knew it would be a tough December for the shop she has worked in for three years but it was worse than she imagined.

They closed early on December 24 and in the run-up to Christmas they hardly saw what could be termed as Christmas trade.

"We had the shop ready from the first week in December," she told Sky News. "But what we anticipated would happen, didn't happen.

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Online Sales Fail To Boost 'Sluggish' December