This is below the three-month average growth of 3.2 percent and the 12-month average growth of 6.4 percent, said a press release by the British Retail Consortium. Since the figures are not adjusted for inflation, it added, the real drop would be much larger.
"The rising cost of living has crushed consumer confidence and put the brakes on consumer spending. Sales growth has been slowing since January, though the real extent of this decline has been masked by rising inflation," said Helen Dickinson, chief executive of the industry body.
Big-ticket items have been hit hardest, as consumers reined in spending on furniture, electricals and other homeware, Dickinson added.
Britain's Consumer Price Index rose by 7 percent in March, hitting a new 30-year high. It is expected to surge further, mainly due to a much higher energy price cap since April.
In its monetary policy summary published on May 5, the Bank of England, the central bank of the United Kingdom, said the country's inflation is expected to rise further over the rest of the year, to just over 9 percent in the second quarter of 2022 and averaging slightly over 10 percent at its peak in the fourth quarter.
Paul Martin, UK head of retail at advisory services KPMG, said that the longer people see high inflation and real household incomes falling, "the more likely it is that consumers will change their spending behavior, prompting a decline in the health of the retail sector and possibly more casualties on the high street."
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