December 2025: the Christmas trading season that exposed the fault lines in UK retail

December 2025 was not a “boom or bust” Christmas. It was more uncomfortable than that.

The data shows a trading period where retail spending broadly held up in value terms, but demand appeared unevenly, shifted channels more aggressively, and exposed retailers who were relying on outdated assumptions about how December now works.

Some businesses got what they needed from the month. Others came away with a quieter realisation: in many discretionary categories, customers are still spending, but they are doing so later, faster, and with far less tolerance for friction. Footfall alone was not enough. Discounting alone was not enough. Being “busy” did not guarantee being profitable.

This blog looks at what actually happened across UK retail in December 2025, using the most reliable data available so far, and what independent retailers should take from it.

What retailers should take from this (before we get into the detail)

Before diving into the numbers, three high-level truths matter:

• For many discretionary retailers, December is no longer one peak. It is a series of sharp, event-led moments.
• Customers are sequencing channels deliberately. Online first, physical later.
• Clarity converts. Confusion doesn’t. Retailers with clear propositions, availability and service reassurance were better placed to capture demand when it appeared.

The sections below explain how that played out in practice.

A necessary reality check: December is not “peak” for every retailer

It is important to be clear about what this analysis does and does not represent.

December is often treated as the defining month for retail, but that framing does not apply equally across all sectors or locations. For some businesses, December has never been the main event.

In lingerie, for example, December has historically been a secondary trading period rather than a peak. Businesses like Mish predominantly serve women buying for themselves. From mid-October onwards, purchasing behaviour shifts as customers redirect spend towards buying for others. December becomes quieter, not because demand disappears, but because priorities change. Likewise, M&S does not sell more lingerie in December than in January.

The same is true for retailers in highly seasonal locations. In places like Cornwall, December is rarely comparable to peak summer trading. June to August often remain the most commercially significant months, driven by tourism and seasonal footfall that December simply cannot replicate.

This matters because there is no single “normal” December. The patterns described in this blog reflect what the data shows across much of UK retail, particularly discretionary categories where gifting, promotions and channel choice dominate. They are not a blunt benchmark for every business.

What does translate across sectors is the underlying shift in customer behaviour: spending is more deliberate, more channel-sequenced, and less forgiving of friction.

Black Friday: the event that reshaped December again

Black Friday continued to exert a structural influence on December 2025.

The data shows that Black Friday pulled spending forward into November, leaving early December softer for many discretionary retailers. Customers waited, then acted decisively around promotional moments rather than browsing gradually through the month.

Official figures show retail sales volumes remaining flat to slightly down in November despite value growth, supporting the view that demand was present but highly selective. Industry commentary reinforced that shoppers were holding back in anticipation of deals rather than spending organically.

As ever, this effect was felt most acutely in discretionary and gifting-led categories, and far less in sectors where purchasing is habitual or needs-driven. For retailers reliant on December margin, Black Friday increasingly set the tone for the rest of the month.

Online vs high street vs retail parks: the real December divide

ONS data through November 2025 shows online sales values rising month on month and year on year, with online accounting for just under 29% of total retail sales. While this does not capture the full December period, it confirms the direction of travel going into peak.

December reinforced this trend, but with important nuance.

Boxing Day was online first

The data shows Boxing Day itself has increasingly become a digital-first shopping event. Customers bought, but many did not go out. Physical footfall on the day was mixed to down overall, with retail parks outperforming while high streets and shopping centres lagged.

This was not a failure of demand. It was a shift in behaviour.

Physical retail recovered after Boxing Day

Footfall data shows a recovery in in-store activity from 27 December onwards, particularly in retail parks and convenience-led locations. This reflected planned post-Christmas behaviour: returns, exchanges, gift cards and more considered purchases rather than spontaneous browsing.

Taken together, the data points to a widening but more sophisticated channel split. Customers are not choosing online instead of stores. They are sequencing channels deliberately, using online for speed and deals, then physical retail for reassurance, resolution and confidence.

For many high street retailers, this matters deeply. Being busy on the wrong days, or relying on pre-Christmas browsing patterns, no longer guarantees results.

Toys and gifting: safe buys, social discovery and confidence-led spend

Toys and gifting categories are not representative of all retail, but they remain a useful barometer of how Christmas demand behaves.

Reporting across December highlights continued resilience in toys, supported by strong brand recognition, social media exposure and the ongoing growth of “kidult” spending. Discovery increasingly happened via social platforms, with customers validating purchases through reviews, availability and delivery certainty.

The pattern was consistent with wider December behaviour: customers were not browsing endlessly. They were buying with intent once reassured.

Grocery and food: value, promotions and celebrating at home

While grocery operates under very different dynamics to most non-food retail, it provides valuable insight into household priorities at Christmas.

Grocery reporting showed heavy promotional activity to stabilise headline festive costs, continued strength for value-led supermarkets, and evidence that households prioritised eating and entertaining at home.

This reinforces the broader December picture. Consumers were not disengaged from Christmas. They were controlling it, planning spend carefully and prioritising value.

How people actually spent: fewer impulses, sharper moments

Card spending and transaction data point to a consistent pattern: overall caution through November and early December, followed by exceptionally strong activity on key promotional days.

At an aggregate level, customers did not shop less. They shopped differently. Spending was concentrated into narrow windows, decisions were made faster, and tolerance for friction was low.

Retailers who reduced friction at those moments converted demand. Those who relied on noise, habit or hope did not.