Consumers will not gift retailers with a "festive bounce" as consumer confidence dropped two points to its lowest level for nine months in December, according to new figures. The latest figures from GfK's consumer confidence index show that propensity to make a big purchase dropped by one point in December to -1. This is despite the fact that consumers feel more positive about their personal financial situation over the past 12 months, which saw a one-point increase.

UK retail sales grew at their fastest rate in more than a decade in November as "Black Friday" discounts, as well as an improving economy and falls in fuel and food prices, encouraged shoppers to make purchases. The latest figures from the ONS show that volume sales were up by 6.4% year-on-year in November, marking the 20th consecutive month of growth and the highest rate since May 2004, when sales were up by 6.9%. Compared to the October, sales were up 1.6% with growth across all main store types.

Johnnie Walker has appointed Anomaly as its global creative agency, following an agency review. Guy Escolme, global brand director for Johnnie Walker, said: "We were hugely impressed by the far-reaching creative vision which Anomaly proposed for our brand and with the strategic thinking that lies behind its development. "A new and exciting era lies ahead for Johnnie Walker." The $40m creative account was previously held by BBH, which was also part of the review.

Ebuyer.com, the online electronics retailer, has launched its first major TV sponsorship campaign with Dave, the UKTV Freeview channel, in a GBP2.8 million deal. Uber, the Sheffield-based ad agency, has created 11 different idents to feature on Dave and Dave ja vu between 9pm and 2am, and various daytime slots, over the weekends throughout 2015. The "big on tech" idents feature miniature toy characters interacting with life-size electronic products. One ident shows models posing provocatively in a steam mop "sauna."

Middle-aged men proved to be the most selfish shoppers in January 2014 -- and the trend looks set to repeat itself in 2015, according to insights from eBay Advertising. It measured patterns across a basket of 10 luxury items, including designer fashion, jewellery and technology, using its "indulgence Barometer." It found that January and March both registered highs of self-gifting. Last January, there were 3.8 million searches for luxury items from men between 45 and 54, the highest volume of consumer inquiries across the gender and age ranges.

Subway is stepping up its sponsorship activity at Liverpool FC, with new display ads reacting to on-pitch activity. The new ads will show the slogan "Super Sub Time" every time a tactical substitution is made by Liverpool. The ads first made an appearance during Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard's substitution in the home game against Sunderland. Subway signed up as Liverpool FC's 'official food partner' earlier this year, extending to 'Train Hard, Eat Fresh' campaign to boards inside Anfield stadium.

Families are marginally better off this year than last, Asda has claimed in its latest income tracker. Asda said the survey, which tracks average household spending power, has found that Brits had GBP11 more to spend per week in November than they did over the same month in 2013. Households had an average of GBP179 per week to spend on festive goods after taxes and bills, it said. Pockets were boosted by the falling cost of travel, with petrol prices down 6% year-on-year -- holiday food and alcohol prices are also down.

Coca-Cola has signed up as official sponsor of the 2015 Rugby World Cup -- a deal that will see the drinks giant become the soft drink, sports drink and water supplier at next year's tournament. The deal, which marks almost two decades for Coca-Cola as a partner of the rugby event, will also see international rugby star Brian O'Driscoll team with the brand. Coca-Cola will hold a number of events and competitions in the run up to the tournament.

Instagram provides high brand engagement on its platform, particularly when compared to Twitter -- however, brands have been cautioned against comparing the different platforms. A Socialbakers report published yesterday shows that brands gain nearly 50 times more engagement on Instagram than Twitter. Engagement has been measured as the sum of "retweets," "replies" and "favourites" features, such as those on Twitter. There is no direct conversion between Instagram and Twitter engagement buttons to compare directly.

Lastminute.com, one of the brands that came to define the Internet boom of the late 1990s, has been sold to Swiss travel firm Bravofly Rumbo for $120m (GBP76m) by its U.S. owner. U.S. technology firm and Travelocity owner Sabre Holdings announced that Lastminute was up for sale in August. It acquired the online late-holiday business in 2005 in a deal that valued the firm at GBP577m -- far short of the GBP768m value attached to the business when it floated on the London Stock Exchange in March 2000.