But many fear a weak start to the year
The high street experienced strong spending in the run-up to Christmas, which fell back during at the beginning of the Sales.

The BRC's Retail Sales Monitor for December reported an overall sales increase for December of 6.2 per cent, with like-for-likes up 2.6 per cent.

In the first two days of post-Christmas Sales, customer traffic dropped back markedly, according to the BRC. Analysts believe this drop could hail a weak start to January spending this year.

The BRC noted that shoppers remained spending savvy over the period, hunting out bargains and taking advantage of widespread promotions.

Food and drink had a good month, according to the survey. Christmas foods, such as nuts and fruit, sold well, as did hampers and joints of meat.

Clothing sales were slow to take off during the month, with sales declines in womenswear and childrenswear, despite an improvement in the week before Christmas. Menswear held up well.

Department stores experienced good trade overall, boosted by special Sales days. The mail-order sector showed some improvement. DIY, gardening, furniture and carpets retailers weathered slow trading.

Health and beauty had a better month, with skincare products selling well. Vitamins and cold remedies showed some growth.

The home entertainment sector was quiet, with no big releases, and non-chart titles driving sales. However, rapper Eminem's album Curtain Call and Sharon Osbourne's autobiography were popular Christmas gifts.

UK Data Response economist Vicky Redwood noted: 'There are a number of reasons why we would be wary of interpreting this as a signal that 2006 will be a much better year for consumer spending. For a start, the annual comparison is with a very weak performance last Christmas. The official measure of sales fell by 1.1 per cent month on month last December. As such, the annual growth rate of sales has to rise strongly to leave sales posting any monthly rise at all this December.'

To view the BRC's Retail Sales Monitor in full, visit our Market Data section here.