Retail sales surged throughout December, beating market forecasts and giving store owners their best Christmas since 2001, according to new figures.
The British Retail Consortium's (BRC) last sales monitor of 2005 shows December takings rose by 2.6% over totals from Christmas 2004.
The month's gain was retailers' largest since a 3.7% increase recorded in May 2004.
The survey also showed that total sales for all new stores and floor space rose at an annual rate of 6.2%, while the three-month trend rate of growth improved to 0.2% in December from -0.1% in November on like-for-like sales.
The week before Christmas proved to be the biggest boon for the nation's high streets and continued through to the first two after the holiday, the BRC said.
Shoppers were driven by heavy promotions and early discounting which fostered a value-conscious attitude toward gift-buying. The BRC emphasised, however, that trade conditions still remain difficult moving in to 2006.
"These are significantly better results than most forecasters were expecting, although the BRC sales figures for October and November indicated a slight improvement in consumer spending," said Kevin Hawkins, director general of the BRC.
"Underlying conditions, however, are still very tough, and the first quarter of 2006 looks challenging, despite being up against weak comparatives in 2005."
Sales figures for this month are likely to be less stellar, warned George Buckley, UK economist at Deutsche Bank.
Shop sales were strong in January 2005, he said, and December's results also mask the fact that December 2004 produced the "worst reading on record".
