The three-month trend rate of growth was unchanged from November at 1.9 per cent for like-for-like sales, and slowed to 4.0 per cent from 4.3 per cent for total sales, reflecting the continued growth of retail space.

BRC director general Kevin Hawkins said: "While some retailers have performed very strongly, the average experience was broadly as we expected - not a bonanza but a long way from the disaster predicted."

And Helen Dickinson, head of retail at KPMG, said: "These results are very much in line with those of last year. However, for many high street retailers much of the sales growth increase has been driven by heavy discounting in the run-up to Christmas. This, combined with increasing cost pressures, will mean that the gap between the winners and losers will widen further."

Joscelyne Hynard, senior analyst in the BRC's business information team, said December was another good month for food and drink, helped by the usual stocking-up for Christmas and new year. Wines and champagne did well, helped by promotions.

Overall clothing sales were better than in November but not as good as in October. Trade continued to suffer from the mild weather in the first part of the month, but picked up just before Christmas. Footwear sales showed some growth overall, in contrast to November's sharp decline. Trade continued to be hit by the mild weather in the first half of the month, but again sales picked up on the colder days before Christmas.

In electricals, overall trends were broadly similar to those seen in the past few months, with sales mixed across both sectors and stores. Flat-screen LCD TVs and laptops remained big sellers, though showing slower growth against last year's strong comparatives. Home accessories and household textiles picked up after slowing in November, but sales were often helped by promotions and clearance sales.

Overall sales of furniture and carpets showed some improvement, but remained lower than a year ago. There were some good purchases for pre-Christmas delivery. Bedroom and lounge furniture often sold better than fitted kitchens and bathrooms, where sales remained largely discount-driven. In home entertainments the picture was mixed: some benefiting from discounts and promotions but others hit by competition. Both albums and DVDs suffered from weaker new releases than a year ago, and albums faced continued competition from downloads.

BRC/KPMG Retail Sales Monitor UK - December 2006

Year-on-year like-for-like (December 2006 v December 2005) UP +2.5 per cent

Year-on-year total sales (December 2006 v December 2005) UP +4.4 per cent

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