Despite the impact of Brexit and the rising competition from online shopping, many stores reported better than expected sales.
And with some businesses slashing prices by up to 50 per cent after Christmas, a number of shops say they are expecting a busy end-of-year sales period.
The news comes as retail intelligence provider, Springboard, said that footfall in the UK on Boxing Day had been down by 5.2 per cent compared to last year.
Steve Wilkinson, owner of Madhatter Surf and Skate Shop, said that despite a slow start he had had his most successful festive period ever.
‘At the beginning of December it was a bit down on previous years but then during the last two weeks we had a number of record days,’ he said.
‘I think footfall in town has been down, it seemed a bit quieter while I was walking round but I think we have got the products that people want and a marketing and social media strategy that works,’ added Mr Wilkinson.
And Gerald Voisin, chief executive of Voisins, also said that his store had enjoyed a last-minute surge in takings after a slow start to December.
He said: ‘It has been a very much last-minute Christmas – there was a frantic rush during the last week. It has been a difficult year generally for retail but these last two weeks have been okay.
‘Women’s clothing has been slightly subdued all year but menswear, perfume, cosmetics and women’s accessories have all performed quite well.’
Mr Voisin added that despite his business performing well over the Christmas period, the public had been spending less since the announcement that Britain was to leave the European Union.
He said: ‘People are more unsure about their personal finances, there is the rising cost of living – it is undermining the public’s confidence to spend.
‘The weather may have affected footfall. There were a couple of weekends in December where we saw horizontal rain, which does not encourage people to come in to town.’
However, Mr Voisin added that he was expecting a very busy post-Christmas sales period and that his store was currently very busy.
Meanwhile, Colin Macleod, chief executive of the Channel Islands Co-operative Society, said that he had been very pleased with the performance of the business.
He said: ‘Trade was significantly boosted by the fact we had a full seven days of trading before Christmas day – it is the first time that has happened for quite few years.
‘However, we may have slightly undercooked it with turkeys – it was disappointing that we were not able to keep with demand right up to Christmas Eve but we performed quite well with everything else, particularly local vegetables. I think we must have sold tonnes of locally grown Brussels sprouts.’
Mr Macleod added that a weakening of the pound had led to a gradual increase in manufacturers’ and suppliers’ costs and that his team had worked hard to ensure that as few of these as possible were passed on to the consumer.
He said: ‘I do not doubt that Christmas may have been more expensive this year for some families or for others they may have had to budget more, but on the whole the figures show that people were still able to ensure that their tables were groaning under the weight of festive goodness.’
And online, Feel Unique, a company co-founded by local entrepreneur Aaron Chatterley, who is now a deputy chairman of the company, announced that it had achieved record Christmas sales – between 20 November and 20 December – of £12.5 million.
