Christmas on the high street

1950 – Small price rises among a few retailers created a public belief that Christmas costs were on the rise Photograph: Ronald Startup/Getty Images

1953 – Stores bustled with shoppers and shelves filled with goods, with chocolates and sweets readily available for the first time since the war as rationing came to an end Photograph: Getty

1959 – Retailers celebrated record Christmas sales with high demand for expensive toys such as bicycles and prams Photograph: Fox Photos/Getty Images

1965 - Although this was meant to be a crisis year, the high street was in rude health in the run up to Christmas with furniture retailers and booksellers faring well Photograph: Getty Images

1972 – The soaring price of apples caused a stir after a Conservative MP said that they could become so expensive by the festive season that people may give them as Christmas presents Photograph: /Getty Images

February 1978 – Retailers enjoyed a healthy Christmas followed by a successful run in the new year sales, helped by the payment of a Christmas bonus to pensioners which boosted their spending power Photograph: John Downing/Getty Images

January 1988 – The stockmarket crash appeared to bring Britain's super-charged consumer boom to an end after December retail figures showed a fall in high street sales with clothing and department stores suffering in particular Photograph: Nils Jorgensen /Rex Features

1991 – Woolworths' troubles have been a long-time coming with reports of the group's decline stretching back to the late 1970s. But in the early 1990s, the chain appeared to make a comeback Photograph: Sarah Lee

1993 - Christmas sales started early as big stores tried to exorcise the ghost of a dismal festive performance in 1992 Photograph: /Rex Features

1998: As the high street recorded a second month of falls in sales and consumer confidence, desperate retailers banked on a last minute Christmas shopping rush to relieve the gloom Photograph: Martin Godwin

January sales, 1999 – With big price cuts appearing on the high street well before Christmas, retailers began changing their traditional practice of shelf-clearing promotions in the new year Photograph: Michael Stephens/PA

2000 - Government figures showed that despite fears of Scrooge-like behaviour at Christmas, shoppers resorted to splashing out on gifts Photograph: Murdo Macleod