A shocking fall in store sales has added to concerns about the UK economy.

Economists said Friday's retail sales figures capped a “disappointing” end to 2024, a period when companies typically try to make the most money from quieter trading periods.

Danny Hewson, head of financial analysis at AJ Bell, said: “At a time when pressure is growing on the Prime Minister to stimulate growth, the news of a decline in retail sales in December is unwelcome, to say the least.”

Alex Kerr, UK economist at Capital Economics, said the worse-than-expected figures were “further evidence that there was very little momentum in the economy at the end of last year.”

But he added: “It’s not a sign of things to come.”

“It is questionable whether the recent economic instability will continue,” he said, adding that he expects consumer spending to increase this year due to an increase in household disposable income.

In its latest World Economic Outlook, the IMF forecast that the UK economy will grow by 1.6% in 2025, which is higher than the 1.5% predicted in October last year.

The World Economic Organization also forecast that the UK will outgrow other European economies in Germany, France and Italy over the next two years.

Following the forecast, Reeves highlighted that the UK was the only G7 economy apart from the US to upgrade its growth forecast.

However, many businesses criticized the Chancellor's measures announced in the Budget to increase the National Insurance rate paid by employers and lower the cap on payments starting from April. The minimum wage is also rising.

Next boss Lord Wolfson told the BBC the changes could make it “more difficult for people to get into work”.

PwC consumer markets industry leader Lisa Hooker said 2025 was likely to see a return to “higher price inflation as retailers pass on increasing business costs.”

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