A fall in high street spending for the second month in a row has underlined the fragile nature of the long-awaited economic recovery.
Figures from the British Retail Consortium show like-for-like sales dropped by 1.7% in March compared with the same period in 2013, with the later timing of Easter this year blamed for the fall.
Online sales rose 12.8% last month, helped by the lack of Easter holidays, which tend to drive consumers out of the house and to the shops.
Meanwhile, for the three-month period to March, food sales were down 2.7% on the year before.
The figures come a few days after economic forecasters EY ITEM Club predicted consumer spending will lead the recovery in 2014.
They expect wages to rise in real terms for the first time in six years, with pay up by 1.7% and inflation falling to 1.6%.
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