Retail sales rose in the year to December, building further on November's solid performance, according to the latest monthly CBI Distributive Trades Survey.

The survey of 109 firms, of which 56 were retailers, showed that in the year to December, retail sales and orders continued to rise, although both disappointed expectations of somewhat stronger growth.\

Overall, sales for the time of year were considered to be in line with seasonal norms. Growth in online sales remained reasonably firm in the year to December, at a pace just below the long-run average (indicating that the internet sales of Black Friday and Cyber Monday were unspectacular), and is expected to slow further in the year to January.