diff --git a/kombu/serialization.py b/kombu/serialization.py
index 884a748d..a3cc9d6e 100644
--- a/kombu/serialization.py
+++ b/kombu/serialization.py
@@ -146,6 +146,9 @@ class SerializerRegistry(object):
         except KeyError:
             return data
 
+        if not data:
+            return data
+
         return decoder(data)