According to the British Retail Consortium (BRC), the U.K. total retail sales declined by 1.3% in April, after a 4.7% rise in March. It was the biggest decline since March 2011.
Retail spending excluding changes in floor space fell by 2.4% in April, after a 3.2 increase in March.
The director-general at the BRC Helen Dickinson said that "confidence among consumers is slowly improving".