UK retail sales fell at the fastest rate in more than a year last month, as food and clothing sales slumped and shoppers cut back on alcohol and tobacco spending, new figures show.
The Office for National Statistics said the total volume of retail sales fell by 2.7 per cent in May.
This compared with a 1.3 per cent rise in April, which was revised up from a previous estimate of 1.2 per cent for the month.
May's overall retail sales came in considerably below the 0.7 per cent decline that most economists had been expecting for the month.
It was also the biggest monthly fall since December 2023.
