The rise in VAT on January 1 could spur purchases of large items in the weeks before the increase, according to the chief executive of Home Retail Group, which owns the Argos and Homebase chains.

Terry Duddy said: “There is potentially an impact on big-ticket [items],” pointing out that “if you are buying a kitchen at £2,500, 2.5 [percentage points on VAT] is a big number”.