Retail sales volumes dropped 2.3% across most sectors in April, following a fall of 0.2% in March, according to the Office of National Statistics.
Damp spring weather hampered footfall during the month and volumes suffered across clothing, sports, games, toy and furniture retailers.
Compared to the prior three months, sales volumes during the three months to April 2024 rose 0.7% and fell 0.8% for the same period the year before.
Volumes fell across most sectors, with non-food store sales volumes dropping 4.1% during the month, the joint largest fall, shared with December 2023, since January 2021.
Household goods retailers saw the steepest drop, down 5.4% during the period, followed by fashion and footwear retailers down 5.1%.
Online sales volumes also fell during the month but the proportion of sales made online increased.
The amount spent online fell by 1.2% during April and by 1.5% over the year, but the proportion of sales crept up from 26.2% in March to 26.5% in April.
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