The ONS said there was downward pressure on all retailers in February, apart from those selling petrol and goods for cars.

Household goods stores, which include DIY and electronics retailers, saw a 2.5% decline in volumes from January, with sales of music and video recording equipment down 12.6% on a year ago.

Supermarkets and food retailers saw volumes decline 2.2% on the previous year, marking the 13th month of declining figures in a row.

Non-store sales, which include internet and mail-order firms, also saw month-on-month sales volumes growth slow to 17.3% in February.

Vicky Redwood, senior UK economist at Capital Economics, said: “February’s 0.8% monthly drop in UK retail sales volumes adds to evidence of a significant slowdown in consumer spending in the last few weeks.

“The level of sales has now fallen below the pre-snow level in November, suggesting an underlying slowdown is at work too.

“What’s more, the outlook for spending remains pretty bleak. Although the Chancellor provided some modest help for consumers in the Budget, real incomes still look set to fall sharply this year.”

Retailers pushed through price hikes in February after holding prices in January to attract consumers following poor sales in December.

The ONS estimated that total prices increased by 2.5% month-on-month – their fastest rate since 1994.