The closure of 58 Bardot stores across the country has kicked off the new year on a sour note for retailers, with some analysts predicting a worse-than-expected trade across the key Christmas period.

Before Christmas, shopkeepers had been concerned about slow sales in the key period due to low consumer confidence and an apparent lack of stimulus from the government's tax cuts.

Fresh research from analysts is suggesting that concern was warranted, with Commonwealth Bank economists saying consumer spending has failed to significantly recover.

Data from credit card usage between November to January indicate spending was down 1.2 per cent, which the bank labelled a "weak result overall". The boom in Black Friday sales did not increase overall spending, they said, instead drawing sales forward into early December.