Snow blamed as shops suffer worst Christmas

The high street suffered its worst Christmas on record as shoppers were put off by snow storms and rising food prices, official figures reveal today.

Sales fell 0.8 per cent in December, compared with the previous month, after consumers abandoned car trips to the shops. Retailers were hoping that shoppers would spend more over Christmas before VAT rose to 20 per cent on January 1.

The Office for National Statistics, which published the figures, said supermarkets were particularly badly hit, but that internet retailers and local convenience stores which are accessible on foot fared much better.

Overall, food store sales dropped by 3.4 per cent. Kate Davies, an ONS statistician, said: "This is the 11th consecutive fall in food store sales and the lowest on record. One factor was that December 2010 was the coldest December in 100 years. Another factor was the five per cent rise in prices of goods sold at food stores."

Chris Williamson, chief economist at City analysts Markit, said: "Low fuel sales drove the decline, dropping 10.7 per cent on a year ago, most likely because people were simply unable to use their cars due to the snow. Excluding fuel, the drop in sales compared with November was a more modest 0.3 per cent." The first GDP estimate for the last quarter of 2010 is widely expected to show a slowdown in the pace of the economic recovery.

Further concern about prospects for 2011 was raised today when John Lewis reported a fall in sales growth to 4.1 per cent in the second week of January.

Two thirds of its department stores had lower sales than last year during the week. The overall total was boosted by internet sales, up 23.2 per cent.