Early reports suggest retailers made an uneven showing during crucial Christmas trading while many consumers struggled with soaring household bills, higher borrowing costs and tame wage growth.
However, there are indications a strong Internet strategy will have helped to separate winners from the losers.
Tesco, the world's fifth largest retailer, which forecast a "good Christmas", saw visitors to Tesco.com swell to 1.3 million over the holiday period. PC World and Curry's are expected to benefit from parent company DSG International's early push into online selling.
Analysts predict the Christmas fortunes of clothing retailer Next, which reports on Thursday, rest on the success of its home and online shopping Directory business.
"Part of the reason why high street retailers are having a tough time is due to the inexorable rise of home shopping via the Internet," Investec Securities analyst Mark Charnock wrote in a note last month.
Among those hardest hit are sellers of music and movies who are suffering from a boom in downloads from the likes of iTunes.
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