British shoppers cut back on spending in the three months to December for the first time since last spring, adding to evidence of a consumer slowdown as Brexit approaches, data showed today.
UK retail sales volumes fell 0.2% in the fourth quarter after a 0.2% rise in the three months to November, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said.
Today's data chimed with other signs that UK consumer spending is cooling after a strong summer.
British businesses are also cutting investment before the UK's scheduled departure from the European Union in late March, leaving the overall economy growing at a snail's pace.
In December alone, retail sales fell 0.9%, recoiling after November's Black Friday splurge, but were 3% higher than a year earlier.
Both readings were below economists' forecasts in a Reuters poll.
The ONS said the value of sales fell for the first time in three years in the three months to December, underlining a squeeze on retailers' profit margins as they battle for customers.
A survey last week from the British Retail Consortium showed retailers failed to increase Christmas sales for the first time since the depths of the global financial crisis a decade ago.
Supermarkets Sainsbury's and Morrison missed Christmas sales forecasts though Tesco beat them. Clothing retailer Next and department store John Lewis reported a late surge in demand.
Today's ONS data showed a drop in sales of carpets and floor coverings, possibly reflecting a stalling housing market.
While disarray over Brexit has weighed on consumer confidence, there has been some comfort for households recently with the fastest underlying pay growth since 2008 and inflation falling to an almost two-year low of 2.1%.
Highlighting the easing of inflation pressures, the ONS's measure of annual price increases in stores cooled to 0.6% in December from 1.3% in November, the smallest uptick in more than two years.
