Retail sales in the United Kingdom increased by a stronger-than-expected 0.4% in December. This figure is based on last year’s annual data published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS). This rebound comes after a tough fall, with sales dropping by 0.1% in November and 0.8% in October. Sales volumes in the last quarter of the year were down 0.3% on the previous three months. Despite an increase in December, this decline took place.
Over this same time period, traditional supermarkets and online retailers experienced drops in sales. Canny online jewellers benefitted from an extraordinary death-knell boom in demand for precious metals such as gold and silver. This trend played a big role in the overall positive beat across retail sales for December.
Besides jewellery, other non-food retailers, such as department and clothing stores, experienced a 0.9% decline. Retail sales rebounded modestly in September according to the ONS, beating forecasts. After a painful fall harvest, this 50% increase to the program comes at a needed time.
“But while food, discounts and holiday preparations pushed up sales, it wasn’t enough to drive significant growth,” – Alice Cowley, managing director in Accenture’s retail practice.
There’s no doubt the consumer demand for online retailing contributed to some of those robust holiday retail sales figures. Jewellers were major winners to a surge in demand as prices for gold and silver rocketed in the last 12 months. This makes sense, since precious metals tend to be seen as safe-harbor investments during uncertain economic conditions, something that would have impacted consumer spending.
Nicholas Hyett, an equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, commented on the holiday season’s performance:
“Among online retailers, jewellers enjoyed a particularly golden Christmas. In uncertain times shoppers seem to be being drawn to dual-purpose jewels that not only tick the Christmas present box but provide a convenient long-term store of value as well.”
December was an encouraging month, sales are still under where they were prior to the coronavirus pandemic in 2019. The prices of gold, silver and their metallic cousins are shooting the moon. Fears of an impending wave of new tariffs on European countries is driving this new demand.
Neil Bellamy, another industry analyst, expressed concern about the broader economic landscape:
“We remain a long way from consumers feeling that better days are around the corner.”
New ONS data indicates that retail sales grew overall by 1.3% over the course of 2025. In fact, this increase was led by a solid month from food stores, non-food stores, and non-store retailers. The holiday season didn’t live up to all the expectations of booming growth.
“With Christmas being a crucial time for the sector, those wishing for a bumper trading period were left disappointed,” – Alice Cowley remarked.
Nicholas Hyett commented on the high street experience during the festive season:
“There was no festive cheer on the high street.”