The image is from the same source.
The Omicron Covid variant saw festive parties canceled and the return of working from home guidance, so shoppers swapped party outfits for comfortable clothes in the Christmas sales.
Helen Dickinson said loungewear was back in fashion.
UK retailers posted strong sales in December despite concerns over a possible lockdown.
Clothes and jewellery were the most popular Christmas gifts.
According to the BRC-KPMG retail sales monitor, total sales rose 2.1% in December. They were up by nearly 5% over the two years before the outbreak.
Total food sales increased by 0.4% in the last three months of the year.
Retail sales held up through December despite the concerns over Omicron, according to Ms Dickinson.
She said that loungewear was back in fashion as many pre-emptively avoided future restrictions. The return of work-from- home advice and the reduction in Christmas social events caused formalwear sales to slow.
When the UK was subject to Covid restrictions in December 2020, online sales fell 13.9%.
The image is from the same source.
Paul Martin said footwear was the only online category to see growth.
Online sales grew by 14.3% in the year as a whole.
Despite the positive sales figures in December, Ms Dickinson said businesses faced significant head winds in 2022, as consumer spending is held back by rising inflation, increasing energy bills, and April's National Insurance hike.
"It will take continued agility and resilience if they are to battle the storm ahead, while also tackling issues from labour shortages to rising transport and logistics costs," she said.
Many analysts are warning of a cost-of-living crisis because of the UK's 10-year high inflation rate.
Wholesale gas prices are going up and businesses are bracing for higher energy costs.
The spread of Omicron weighed heavily on the spending of hotels and leisure facilities in December.
The credit card spending data shows that total spending rose in December by 12.2%, which was driven by a 13.7% rise in essential spending.
Spending in restaurants fell by 14.1% against the pre-pandemic levels.
The new variant of the card made it difficult for face-to-face retailers as well as leisure outlets to compete.
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