Neilsen has forecast that supermarkets will have stable sales figures in the final week of trading before Christmas, and that despite a slow start figures will be slightly up on this time last year.

Nielsen's senior manager for retailer services Mike Watkins, said: "After slow sales in November, Christmas finally started for Britain's supermarkets in the week ending 3 December, helped by the release of pent-up demand, colder weather and pay-day shopping. The comparative year-on-year growths for this December are looking favourable, partly because of the arctic weather last year, when major retailers had to juggle replenishment, affecting availability in what is otherwise a very efficient supply chain."

Nielsen is a global provider of information and analytics around what consumers watch and buy.