Retailers suffered in February as UK consumers sharply cut back their spending.
The British Retail Consortium said high energy bills and the rising cost of a weekly shop were forcing shoppers to cut back.
Total sales rose by 5.2% in February compared with a year earlier, up slightly from January’s annual growth rate of 4.2%. However, much of the rise was a result of high inflation pushing up the value of goods being sold, masking weaker sales volumes.
