uk retail sales fell more than expected on month in march reflecting that costofliving pressures from high inflation are weighing on household spending retail sales volumes dipped 09 in march from the previous month compared with a downwardly revised increase of 11 in february data from the office for national statistics showed friday the figure is weaker than the 06 fall expected by economists polled by the wall street journal it marked the first fall since december 2022 sales volumes fell 38 in the three months to march 2023 compared to the previous quarter the ons said nonfood stores sales volumes fell by 13 in february hurt by poor weather in march the ons said citing feedback from retailers sales volumes at food stores also fell by 07 on month following a rise of 06 in february suggesting that inflationary pressures could be squeezing household spending inflation ticked down only slightly in march to 101 on year driven by food inflation that reached 196 also affected by rising interest rates sales are expected to remain subdued in the short term some economists say