Retail sales slowed in July after shoppers' heat-induced assaults on the High Street in the previous month.
According to data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS), retail sales fell by 0.4 per cent on the month compared with June's 1.9 per cent surge. Against the same month last year, sales were 4.4 per cent higher in July.
Purchases of household goods such as electrical appliances and furniture rose 0.5 per cent in July, the ONS said, while sales dipped 0.1 per cent at food shops and 0.5 per cent at other stores including clothing, textiles and shoe outlets.
City economists had forecast a decline of about 0.6 per cent as the figures came up against tough comparisons with the soaring temperatures of June, which sent shoppers scrambling for hot weather gear such as barbecues, fans and paddling pools.
The weather distortion means that analysts were looking for the three-month figures for a clearer picture of retail sales progress.
John Butler, economist at HSBC, said: "A better guide of the health of the consumer is that retail sales over the past three months are up 1.4 per cent or 5.6 per cent on an annualised basis".
Consumer spending, which has propped up the economy while Britain's manufacturing sector struggles, is expected to remain robust over the next few months while employment remains high and interest rates low.
But economists fear that as the growth in income slows, consumer spending will be increasingly financed through rising debt, leaving the economy looking fragile.