We’ve already heard some seasonal success stories from a number of key UK shopping centres, but what of the overall sales performances in towns and city centres in December? Poor, although beauty was one of the better performers.

Sales in towns and city centres declined 7.9% year-on-year last month as Britons chose “cautious spending, taking the shine out of the wider Golden Quarter”, according to Rendle Intelligence and Insights.

The decline follows an annual drop in spending of 3.8% in December 2023, it noted.

It pointed to a decline in spending during December, caused by a 7% dip in the number of customers purchasing and a 7.3% dip in the number of transactions made. 

At the same time, the average transaction value (ATV) only declined by a marginal 0.7%, “a very different picture from December 2023, when the ATV declined 2.4% year-on-year while customer numbers rose 1.5% by comparison”, it said. 

It noted that the drop in the number of customers purchasing dovetails with footfall into stores during December, which was 2.2% lower than a year ago.

Spending across the five key sectors (Fashion, Food & Drink, General Retail, Grocery and Health & Beauty), which account for 85% of town and city centre sales, declined annually in all five sectors.

Although no figures were given for the Fashion sector, Health & Beauty joined Food & Drink as the two sectors with the most modest dips in sales (-4.6% and -5.9% respectively) and were also the only two key sectors where the ATV increased annually (+4.9% in Health & Beauty).

Diane Wehrle, CEO of Rendle Intelligence and Insights, said: “A second consecutive year of spending decline clearly reflects the ongoing cost pressures faced by households, following a prolonged period of very high inflation and continued economic uncertainty.

“With fewer customers making purchases whilst the average value of each transaction remained level on last year, there is clearly a polarisation between consumers who are spending and those who are not, with those who are spending purchasing higher priced products.”

Worryingly for the fashion and beauty sectors, she added: “These results could also mark the start of a shift in attitudes towards Christmas, with consumers who are cash strapped choosing to not spend for the sake of it, spending more of their Christmas budget towards grocery, experiences and food & drink. We could be seeing the start of a whole new attitude towards Christmas spending, a worry for retailers who traditionally rely on the ‘golden quarter’.”