UK retail sales volumes have shown their first year-on-year drop since 2013 on the official measure, as households are squeezed by falling real pay resulting from a surge in inflation.

Figures published yesterday by the Office for National Statistics show retail sales volumes in October were down by 0.3 per cent on the same month of last year.

Retail sales volumes were up by only 0.3 per cent month-on-month in October, following a 0.7 per cent tumble in September. The October increase was slightly better than the 0.1 per cent increase forecast by economists.

In September, retail sales volumes had been up by 1.3 per cent on the same month of last year.

Howard Archer, chief economic adviser to the EY ITEM Club think-tank, said: “Consumer confidence is relatively fragile, with considerable caution over making major purchases. Consumers may also be worried by the recent [Bank of England] interest rate hike. Meanwhile, lenders are becoming markedly more reluctant to provide unsecured credit to consumers.”

The Bank raised UK base rates by a quarter-point from their record low of 0.25 per cent this month.

ONS data on Wednesday showed average weekly earnings for employees in Great Britain, excluding bonuses, were in the three months to September down by 0.5 per cent on the same period of 2016.