Retail Sales See Steepest Monthly Drop Since 2021 Lockdown as Shoppers Pull Back on Festive Purchases
• Retail sales volumes fell 3.2% in December, the sharpest drop since the January 2021 Covid lockdown • Food and non-food product sales declined, with fewer large family gatherings reducing gift buying • Shoppers brought holiday purchases forward to November to take advantage of Black Friday deals • Consumers are still feeling the pinch of high food prices and inflation over the past 12 months • The drop raises the risk of a mild recession in 2023 as cost of living drags on real incomes