Demand for on-line jewelry helped enhance retail gross sales in December, regardless of a tough festive interval general for retailers, figures present.
Sales had been up 0.4% from the earlier month, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) mentioned, citing on-line jewellers reporting an elevated demand for valuable metals similar to gold and silver.
Internet buying carried out properly, whereas there was a small rise for supermarkets and gross sales of automotive gas. But gross sales for non-food retailers, similar to division, clothes and family shops, had been down 0.9%.
The month-to-month rise – bigger than anticipated – comes after gross sales fell unexpectedly in November, though it included Black Friday gross sales.
Retail gross sales had fallen by 0.1% in November, which adopted a 0.8% drop in October.
Monthly development charges will be risky, and ONS mentioned gross sales volumes fell by 0.3% within the ultimate three months of final 12 months when in comparison with the earlier quarter, with supermarkets and on-line shops each seeing a fall.
But throughout 2025 as an entire, retail gross sales had been up 1.3%, with stronger performances for each meals and non-food shops, and non-store retailers (primarily on-line sellers but in addition road stalls and markets).
This represents the second consecutive annual rise, however gross sales nonetheless stay under 2019 pre-coronavirus pandemic ranges.
ONS senior statistician Hannah Finselbach mentioned: “The last three months of the year saw a slight drop in retail sales following a strong third quarter, with supermarkets and online stores both down.
“However, gross sales had been up in December, with web retailing doing properly. Within this, on-line jewellers had a powerful month and informed us there was larger demand for gold and silver.”
The rising cost of living has squeezed shoppers’ purses, and businesses have complained of higher costs following changes announced in the past two Budgets.
Nicholas Hyett, investment manager at Wealth Club, said the figures showed there was “no festive cheer on the excessive road” as Christmas shoppers increasingly turned online.
“Among on-line retailers, jewellers loved a very golden Christmas. In unsure occasions customers appear to be being drawn to twin objective jewels that not solely tick the Christmas current field, however present a handy long-term retailer of worth as properly.”
Precious metals are seen as safer assets to hold in times of uncertainty, and the prices of both gold and silver have soared over the past year.
In recent days they reached record highs as investors reacted to the threat by US President Donald Trump to impose fresh tariffs on eight European countries opposed to his proposed takeover of Greenland.
Alice Cowley, managing director in Accenture’s retail practice, said the “modest” monthly rise in UK retail sales would bring some relief after a “tough autumn”.
“But whereas meals, reductions and vacation preparations pushed up gross sales, it wasn’t sufficient to drive vital development,” she continued.
“With Christmas being an important time for the sector, these wishing for a bumper buying and selling interval had been left upset.”
Neil Bellamy, consumer insights director at GfK, which analyses consumer confidence, said: “We stay a great distance from shoppers feeling that higher days are across the nook.”
GfK’s newest shopper confidence index edged up by one level in January to minus 16, and it’s now 10 years because the index confirmed a constructive quantity.
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