UK retail sales fall as shoppers cut back on homeware amid rising prices

Cost of living crisis sees shoppers reduce spend on furniture and applicances

Consumer confidence is said to be at its lowest since the early 1970s (EPA)

Retail sales fell last month as squeezed shoppers cut back on purchases of homeware, furniture and appliances amid spiralling living costs.

Sales fell for the second month in a row during May with the high street stores seeing trade remaining well below pre-pandemic levels, despite some signs of a rebound this year.

Soaring inflation has pummelled consumer confidence as the spending power of people’s wages falls.