Official figures show that British retail sales unexpectedly fell in December at their fastest rate in a year.
The figures indicate that British consumers reined in spending over the Christmas period.
The Office for National Statistics said sales fell 0.4% last month, confounding forecasts for a 0.2% rise.
The largest contribution to the decrease came from non-specialised stores - including department stores - where sales volumes decreased by 4.3%, the largest decline since February 1994.
Marks & Spencer has been the highest profile casualty of the slowdown, with like-for-like sales down by 2.2% in the third quarter of its financial year - the company's first drop in sales for more than two years. Higher borrowing costs and the impact of the credit squeeze have been blamed for the slowdown.
