LONDON -British retail sales sank heavily in March, official data showed Friday, as consumers shunned the high street in the face of poor weather and a cost-of-living crisis. Sales by volume decreased 0.9 percent last month, the Office for National Statistics said in a statement. That was worse than expectations of a 0.5-percent decline, and followed a gain of 1.1 percent in February on strong buying at discount stores. Food sales were hit particularly hard by rampant inflation last month. 'Retailers have been quick to point out that this (sales drop in March) was driven by poor weather conditions which discouraged spending in physical locations, but the broader issue runs much deeper than that,' said Hargreaves Lansdown analyst Sophie Lund-Yates.

https://business.inquirer.net/396996/uk-retail-sales-dip-as-consumers-shun-high-street

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