The figure will be a disappointment to the BRC: the body was until recently confident the December figure would be "at least" as good as last year's. Figures for shopper numbers across December paint an equally bleak picture.

Data from SPSL showed that the number of people out shopping in December was 3.2 per cent lower than in 2006, worse than SPSL's forecast of minus 2.1 per cent. "Christmas 2007 really was a stop-and-start, up-and-down roller coaster. There were days in the run-up that were far busier than their equivalents in 2006, but there were just as many days that were hugely disappointing," said Dr Tim Denison from SPSL.