The British Retail Consortium (BRC) has revealed that high street sales grew by just 1.8% in November showing little growth in consumer activity in the lead up to Christmas.
The figures compare to growth of 3.8% in October and the BRC said the small growth in November was down to a sharp fall in food inflation.
Separate figures from Experian show shopper numbers over the weekend of December 5-6 were down 4.8% on last year.