Sales volumes across the UK fell by 0.9 per cent last month following an increase of 1.1 per cent in February, according to figures from The Office for National Statistics (ONS).

The figures come after the UK experienced the wettest March in over 40 years.

Retailers told ONS that poor weather conditions throughout the month had contributed to non-food store sales volumes declining by 1.3 per cent after a rise of 2.4 per cent in the previous month, while food store sales were down 0.7 per cent after an increase of 0.6 per cent.

While sales volumes rose by 0.6 per cent in the three months to March 2023 when compared with the previous three months, compared to a year earlier they were down 3.8 per cent.

Overall, when compared to the same period of 2022, sales volumes in March were 3.2 per cent lower.

Despite not being impacted by the wet weather, non-store retailing – predominately made up of online retailers – also saw volumes drop by 0.3 per cent after an increase of 0.3 per cent in February.

Helen Dickinson, chief executive of the British Retail Consortium, noted that March saw year-on-year sales volumes fall for the 12th consecutive month.

“But despite many consumers tightening their purse strings, they still wanted to celebrate special occasions, and there was particular strong growth in jewellery and cosmetics sales thanks to Mother’s Day gifting," said Dickinson. "Meanwhile, clothing sales were held back by the wet weather in March.”

Silvia Rindone, EY UK&I retail lead said that the decline in retail sales last month was "unsurprising" given that the sustained inflationary environment continues to leave consumers cautious about spending across food and non-food retail

“Increasing food prices are forcing consumers to make choices to buy less as they pay more," said Rindone.

She continued: “However there may be a light at the end of the tunnel as the ‘three-month’ trajectory indicates that sales volumes rose in the three months to March 2023, the first quarterly rise since August 2021.”

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