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Retail sales in the UK are to grow 2.5% during December taking total sales up to £42bn, according to forecasts from market research firm Mintel.
According to the company’s Christmas Shopping Habits UK 2015 report 21% of Britons say they will spend more online this Christmas, down from 25% in 2014 which means more consumers are planning to head to the high street.
Despite this, the report did say that Black Friday will have an impact on December sales. As many as one in ten (11%) Britons who bought Christmas gifts last year did so on Black Friday and Mintel estimates that the occasion boosted November’s sales in 2014 by £400m, £50m of which were online.
Meanwhile, when it comes to online shopping, only one in 20 (5%) respondents to the report say that they do not plan to shop online this Christmas.
Richard Perks, director of retail research at Mintel, said: “We’ve been through the worst downturn and financial crisis since the war, but we’ve had a sustained period of growth since 2012.
“Although there’s no doubt there are problems on the horizon, when looking solely at Christmas, it seems to us that consumer demand is holding up well. Retailers should be satisfied with the outcome of Christmas – it will be good, though not great.”
He added that with incomes growing and a strong housing market we can be “relaxed” about the prospects for retailing in 2016, with modest growth predicted.
