RETAILERS enjoyed their best Christmas for four years, figures revealed yesterday.

The increase in sales comes after months of reported retail gloom on the high street, with a downturn in customer spending blamed on soaring energy and fuel costs and an uncertain economic climate.

The British Retail Consortium (BRC) and accountants KPMG said sales last month showed a 2.6 per cent improvement on the lacklustre performance of a year earlier, helped by heavy trade in the week before Christmas and a good first two days of the sales season.

Food sales remained buoyant in the festive period, while clothing and footwear struggled and sales of electrical and electronic items were slightly down year-on-year, albeit at a higher level than previous months.

Despite the biggest overall monthly sales gain since May 2004, the BRC and KPMG warned that prospects for retailers this year remained challenging, with underlying conditions "still very tough".

Expectations in the run up to Christmas had been poor.

l The John Lewis Partnership said yesterday it had been encouraged by its performance over Christmas with sales growth of 7.1 per cent at its department stores and 6.2 per cent at Waitrose.

Chairman Sir Stuart Hampson said: "The sense of relief that Christmas turned out brighter than many feared should not disguise the fact that conditions in retailing remain tough, with strong competition and price deflation keeping pressure on margins."

John Lewis said the growth in sales in the seven weeks to January 7 reflected a more targeted product range, better availability and more focused marketing.