•In March 2013, the quantity bought in the retail sector (or sales volumes) decreased by 0.5%. This follows strong year-on-year growth of 2.5% in February 2013 and a year-on-year decrease in January of 0.6%. Quarter 1 2013 does however show an increase of 0.4% compared with Quarter 4 2012. •The largest contribution to the year-on-year decrease came from the non-food sector, where compared with March 2012, the quantity of goods bought decreased by 2.6%. •March 2013 was the second coldest on record and this appears to have had a negative effect on sales in the non-food sector. Feedback from department stores, clothing ... (full story)