IT started with people falling over each other in a rush to buy things – but for some retailers, the vital pre-Christmas sales period may have peaked too soon.

After the chaotic scenes of Britain embracing Black Friday, the latest sales monitor from the British Retail Consortium and KPMG found retailers suffered their slowest December growth in six years.

There has even been a call in Parliament for retailers to abandon Black Friday because of the strain the event put on police forces, who had to intervene in the retailing chaos in several parts of the country.

David McCorquodale, head of retail at KPMG, said: “Extensive discounting disrupted the timing and rhythm of Christmas spending. Between Black Friday and Boxing Day, retailers and consumers engaged in a three-week dance, each waiting for the other to take the lead and as a result sales suffered.

“It’s now clear that Black Friday did pull festive sales forward into November, and this created a challenging lull in spending with consumers waiting for future bargains. This situation did not reverse until the week of Christmas. The launch of Boxing Day sales mixed with new season full price stock saw some phenomenal spending, with fashion retailers achieving double digit growth.”

Among the chains for which Black Friday was a mixed blessing was Game Digital, the video game retailer which was rescued from administration in 2012. It said promotions from Black Friday onwards helped to shift goods but weighed on the bottom line.

Mandy Payne, retail consultant with Spotcheckers and president of Bournemouth Chamber of Trade and Commerce, said Black Friday was here to stay. “It’s another marketing opportunity for people to get behind if they use it properly. It’s got skewed by some of our multinationals,” she said.

She said some businesses had ‘gone overboard’ with the idea. “If they were to moderate their offers, it wouldn’t have so much intensity and people would do it for the right reasons.”

She said she had seen a mixed picture for retailers.

The figures suggested local factors such as parking charges and accessibility could have a large impact on the fortunes of an individual branch.

It was also clear that branches of big retailers were being increasingly used for picking up ‘click and collect’ orders, so smaller retailers needed to get online.

Yesterday, the Daily Echo reported that Poole’s Dolphin Centre has seen increased footfall, with several shops reporting increases in sales.

In his column in The Briefing today, Dorset Chamber of Commerce and Industry president Rob Mitchell says retail business in Bournemouth seemed to have been ‘OK’, but local factors such as roadworks in Boscombe and Southbourne took their toll.

“Question marks were raised over the Black Friday concept and a number of retailers were heavily discounting from October onwards due to lack of demand,” he said.

He points out that John Lewis boss Andy Street has warned retailers to rein in Black Friday promotions. “And no wonder, as what's the point of having a major sale coinciding with the last payday before Christmas?” he writes.

PRE-Christmas sales figures – winners and losers.

  •  Primark: Up 15 per cent (16 weeks to January 3)
  •  Poundstretcher: Up 14.8 per cent in five weeks to December 30. 
  • Superdry: Up 12.4 per cent (11 weeks to January 10)
  •  JD Sports: Up 12 per cent (five weeks to January 3)
  • House of Fraser: Up eight per cent (six weeks to January 3)  
  • Debenhams: Up 4.9 per cent (four weeks to January 10).
  • John Lewis: Up 4.8 per cent in total; one per cent down in stores (five weeks to December 27)
  • Mothercare: Up1.1 per cent in 13 weeks to January 10.
  • Argos: up 0.1 per cent (18 weeks to January 3)
  • Marks and Spencer: Down 5.8 per cent in general merchandise, up 0.1 in food (13 weeks to December 27)
  • Game Digital: Down 5.4 per cent (11 weeks to January 10)
  • Morrisons: Down 3.1 per cent (six weeks to January 4)
  • Tesco: Down 2.9 per cent (19 weeks to January 3)
  • Sainsbury’s: Down 1.7 per cent (14 weeks to January 3; but an improvement in second quarter)