UK retailers endure ‘drab December’ as non-food sales fall flat

Sales of clothes and computers fall, but discount supermarkets Aldi and Lidl enjoy bumper trading

Retailers suffered a “drab Christmas”, ending the year with disappointing sales in their most important month, according to new data underlining the difficulties facing Britain’s high streets.

Overall retail sales grew by just 1.2% in December compared with a year earlier, the British Retail Consortium (BRC) said. That was below the 12-month average of 2.3%.