British retail sales slid by 1.5 per cent in January after spiking by 2.5 per cent a month earlier.
They jumped by 4.3 per cent in January compared with the same month in 2013, the Office for National Statistics said on Friday.
Retail sales had spiked in December as shoppers spent heavily before Christmas.
"The Christmas period will have given a boost to December's numbers, while January had to cope with poor weather and the traditional post-Christmas time of domestic austerity," said Chris Beauchamp, an analyst at IG trading group.
"Nonetheless, the picture looks better for the UK economy at the moment, with growth still looking reasonable and weaker inflation helping to make life easier for consumers."
Britain's flooding crisis, which has resulted in parts of the country suffering the wettest start to a year in 250 years, eased this week after the arrival of drier weather.
