Quiz Clothing sales plunged 11% in December as inflation hit demand and traffic declined both in stores and online.

The fashion chain said the sales drop was “consistent with the trends experienced in previous months”. It swung to a £1.5m pre-tax loss in its first half to 30 September and kicked off a “thorough review” of it strategic options, which it is due to report back by the end of March.

Despite the sales decline over Christmas, the retailer said it was confident in achieving current market expectations for the year.

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Quiz’ gross margins, conversion rates and average transaction values were all on par with last year.

The lacklustre update comes amid a challenging Christmas for many fashion retailers as shoppers cut discretionary spend amid the cost-of-living crisis.

JD Sports sounded a profit warning earlier this month blaming “cautious consumer behaviour” and milder weather for a “softer” golden quarter while Primark, a perennial over-performer in the retail sector, flagged slower sales growth over Christmas.

The value fashion giant’s sales edged up 2.1% driven by higher average selling prices, however, this was a sharp slowdown from the 8% growth achieved the previous quarter.

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