Retail figures 'not that impressive' due to discounts

A "dazzling" pre-Christmas rush helped to boost UK retail sales in December, according to the British Retail Consortium (BRC).

On a like-for-like basis, which strips out the impact of new store openings, sales grew by 2.2% in the month against a year ago. Total sales rose by 4.1%.

But Natalie Berg, an analyst from Planet Retail, says the figures "are not that impressive" given the extent of the pre-Christmas discounting by shops.

She also warned that January will be a very tough month for retailers.