Consumer spending in the UK is anticipated to increase by 0.8% this year – and only 0.2% in the event of a no-deal Brexit – according to the Shopping for Christmas 2019 report produced by the Centre for Retail Research for Vouchercodes.co.uk .

The study found that spend over Christmas –  the six weeks to the end of December – will increase from £79.72bn in 2018 to £80.27bn this year.

The 0.8% rise is lower than the 1.2% advance registered last year and a 1.4% increase in 2017, which the report suggested was because of ongoing concerns about the impact of Brexit.