Retail sales down by 0.8%

Retailers suffered their worst sales performance in nine months in February as families continued to rein in spending, official figures show.

Retail sales volumes fell by a larger-than-expected 0.8 per cent between January and February, the Office for National Statistics said, driven by a weak show from the clothing and household goods sectors.

The City had been expecting a 0.4 per cent decline in February.

A total £24.6 billion was spent in the retail sector last month, compared to £24.4bn in January and £23.9bn the previous year.

Food stores saw sales volumes drop 0.1 per cent between January and February, despite customers stocking up on cupboard staples during snowfall and freezing temperatures at the beginning of the month.

Non-food stores fell 1.5 per cent month-on-month, driven by a drop in clothing and footwear sales.

The decline came despite continued evidence of heavy discounting among retailers.