Miserable March weather has been blamed for a shock drop in retail sales.
Shops said the wet weather contributed to a 0.9 per cent fall in sale volumes in the UK last month.
Clothing retailers, department stores and garden centres suffered particularly badly in the sixth rainiest March since 1836.
Food shops also saw a 0.7 per cent drop, following shortages of some fresh products and soaring inflation changing customer habits, figures from the Office for National Statistics revealed.
The amount of food bought by shoppers is three per cent lower than before the pandemic hit in February 2020, data shows. But the amount of money being spent by households is significantly higher due to rocketing food inflation, which hit a 45-year-high of 19.1 per cent last month.
The reduction in overall sales was heavier than expected, with economists predicting a 0.5 per cent decline for the month. It comes after retailers reported a 1.1 per cent increase in sales volumes in February.
ONS director of economic statistics Darren Morgan said: “Retail fell sharply in March as poor weather impacted on sales across almost all sectors.
“However, the broader trend is less subdued as a strong performance from retailers in January and February means the three-month picture shows positive growth for the first time since August 2021.”
Despite the fall in sales during March, for the first three months of the year sales grew by 0.6 per cent compared with the previous three months, the ONS said.
This is the first rise in quarterly sales since August 2021. Lisa Hooker, industry leader for consumer markets at PwC, said: “The slowdown in March looks like it was a result of specific factors, and not indicative of a longer term trend.
“Fresh food shortages earlier in the month limited grocery sales volumes, while the wettest March in England for over 40 years put a dampener on high street sales, with the likes of new season fashion and garden centre sales suffering as a result.
“However, while March’s rain may have washed out the green shoots from February, the overall momentum of the retail sector remains positive, and better than many expected at the start of 2023.”
