Retail sales volumes declined by 0.9% in March following a (revised) rise of 1.1% the month before. All three main sub-sectors showed falls with non-food stores indicating the steepest fall of -1.3% month on month, with some retailers noting poor weather during March may have impacted consumer habits. Food store volumes also declined by 0.7%, non-store retailing (online shopping) was down by 0.8%, while fuel sales volumes rose slightly by 0.2%.
GfK’s measure of consumer confidence increased by six points in April, up to -30 with all sub-measures up in comparison to March’s figures. This now marks the third consecutive rise in consumer confidence and is a full 19 points above the trough in September 2022, and the highest figure since February 2022. Consumers appear more positive regarding their own finances and indeed the health of the wider economy but -30 is still well into negative territory and indicates that consumer confidence remains very weak. 
Very low consumer confidence and falling retail sales reflect the rapid rise in inflation, which has created the biggest fall in real household disposable incomes since records began in the 1960s, as well as rising interest rates (which will increasingly feed through to significantly higher mortgage payments for homeowners as fixed-rate deals come to an end), elevated energy bills and an ongoing subdued economic outlook. If inflation now decelerates as expected, this should help consumer confidence further. 
Real household disposable incomes remain under pressure, Respond with more than 500 words.
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