Although there was a rush in shopping before the festive period, retails sales in the December month were disappointing.

Figures show that during November and December, the amount of items purchased dropped 1.9%, whilst the amount of money spent decreased 1.3%, according to the Official for National Statistics.

Meanwhile, on a quarterly basis, volumes increased 5.6% in the three months to the end of December in comparison to the same time the previous year and total sales grew 5.9%.

Kate Davies, at the ONS Senior Statistician, said retailers enjoyed “a strong end to 2016”.

Adding: “Sales in the final quarter [were] up 5.6pc on the same period last year, although the amount bought fell between November and December once the effects of Christmas are removed.”

“There were some notably strong figures from smaller retailers, in particular butchers, who reported a significant boost in sales in the run-up to Christmas."

The ONS have also suggested that rising inflation is due to increased petrol prices and the value of the pound. However, there is a prediction that food prices will start to grow again as they have been falling for the last two years, which may have put shoppers off spending money in December.

Commenting, the ONS said: “Increased prices are now visible in other store types, which may have contributed to the monthly fall in the quantity bought in December 2016.”

An economist at Capital Economics, Paul Hollingsworth also commenting, saying: "December’s disappointing UK retail sales figures suggested that shoppers lost some festive cheer at the end of last year."

"Admittedly, we wouldn’t read too much into monthly changes, as retail sales can be extremely volatile. Moreover, the large fall stands in contrast to the survey evidence, which generally strengthened in December.

"Over the fourth quarter as a whole, sales volumes rose by 1.3pc, lower than the 1.8pc rise in the third quarter. Nonetheless, the sector should still add 0.1 percentage points to GDP growth, providing another reason to think that the economy has maintained a decent amount of momentum."