'Beast from the East' sent retail sales tumbling in March, figures show
The cold snap saw shoppers avoid the high street - heaping pressure on retailers already struggling with tough trading conditions.
Wednesday 28 March 2018 18:45, UK
Retailers have endured their bleakest month for nearly five years thanks to the combined effect of the "Beast from the East" and the ongoing squeeze on household finances, new figures show.
A CBI survey said sales fell in March for the first time since October while, for the time of year, they underperformed by the biggest margin since April 2013.
The survey is the first evidence of a pattern beginning to emerge across Britain's high streets - with already tough trading conditions deteriorating further amid the freezing weather.
Toys R Us UK and Maplin have been among the biggest retail casualties in recent months - with Conviviality, the owner of Bargain Booze, becoming the latest to face collapse.
Last week, the fashion chain Next said it had been through its worst year for 25 years - with rival New Look reaching an agreement to close swathes of stores and Moss Bros issuing a profit warning.
Stores have been struggling as rising inflation combined with sluggish wage growth means consumers' spending power is shrinking.
The CBI said the latest fall in sales was broad-based, encompassing department stores, furniture and carpets, clothing and other goods.
CBI principal economist Ben Jones said: "Against a backdrop of stagnating household incomes and weak consumer confidence, the lengthy cold snap earlier this month has heaped added pressure on retailers.
"Freezing conditions and transport disruption caused people to avoid the high street.
"With many forced to work from home, telecoms firms saw record internet traffic - yet online shopping slowed sharply given the potential for disrupted deliveries."
Conditions are expected to improve on the high street as winter loses its grip and household incomes improve but gains are "likely to be modest, with conditions for retailers likely to remain challenging for some time yet", Mr Jones added.
The survey findings chime with a recent trading update from online grocer Ocado, which saw nearly £4m knocked off sales as a result of the weather disruption.
Fashion chain Ted Baker has also said its sales were affected by the cold snap.
The Bank of England earlier on Wednesday noted the slowdown in retail sales, with weaker spending on white goods and homeware.
A quarterly summary of business conditions by Bank agents pointed to subdued housing market activity, spending being brought forward to Black Friday, and the continued squeeze on households as being behind the trend.
The Bank said last week that it expected the recent cold snap to hold back first quarter GDP growth, resulting in a downgrade to its forecast from 0.4% to 0.3%.