Retail sales suffered their worst December slump on record last month as the Omicron variant was blamed for keeping shoppers away.
The 3.7% month-on-month decline in sales volumes reported by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) follows a strong November, when some consumers chose to make Christmas purchases early.
A fall in demand for petrol and diesel, due to more people working from home under Plan B rules, also contributed to the slump.
It was significantly worse than the 0.6% drop that had been pencilled in by forecasters and was the biggest December decline on records going back to 1996.
The fall was also the worst for any month since last January when Britain was coming under a tough new lockdown.
It highlighted the pressure on businesses created by the Omicron variant – and restrictions designed to tackle its spread – over the key festive season.
They will be now hoping for a boost as the Plan B rules are lifted – though separate figures published on Friday by GfK show a sharp drop in consumer confidence blamed on the surge in the cost of living.
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