Figures released in BDO’s monthly High Street Sales Tracker showed sales on the high street fell over the crucial Christmas period.

Like-for-like sales at mid-market retailers slumped 1.4% year-on-year over December as shoppers were absent from the traditional last minute rush in the wake of November’s ‘Black Friday’ shopping frenzy.

The fashion sector was hit the hardest, down 3.1% for the month. Like-for-like sales decreased in the run-up to Christmas, slumping to 6.1% down year-on-year in the last week of the year.

Sales of lifestyle goods (up 3.5%) and homewares (up 8.2%) repaired some of the damage, but retailers were left ruing a combination of unhelpful weather conditions and unfamiliar shopping patterns.

Sophie Bevan, Head of Retail and Wholesale at BDO LLP, said: “For most retailers, Black Friday took the wind out of their sails for December. The unseasonal weather over the autumn left fashion stores with stock to shift, but the hype around Black Friday meant many shoppers had spent the majority of their budget by the end of November.

“When like-for-like sales dropped by over 3% in the second week of December, retailers started to get nervous, resulting in early discounting. But we will not see the real cost that these heavy promotional activities have had on margins until the post-Christmas reckoning of results.”