Retail sales are falling at a rate "not seen since the depths of the pandemic", as price rises hit household budgets, a UK retail body has said.

Shoppers are cutting back on white goods such as fridges and dishwashers as well as opting for cheaper brands, the British Retail Consortium added.

Sales in shops and online have dropped for three months in a row, figures from the BRC and accountants KPMG indicate.

Prices in the UK are currently rising at their fastest rate for 40 years.

Inflation - the rate at which prices rise - hit 9.1% in May, with the increasing cost of food, energy bills and fuel putting pressure on households' finances.

Yesterday Punchline reported that struggling retailer Joules had called in financial advisors KPMG  to help with a cashflow crisis.

Helen Dickinson, chief executive of the British Retail Consortium, said: "Sales volumes are falling to a rate not seen since the depths of the pandemic, as inflation continues to bite, and households cut back spending.

"Discretionary purchases were hit hard, especially white goods and homeware, while consumers also traded down to cheaper brands in food and non-food alike. While the Jubilee weekend gave food sales a temporary boost, and fashion sales benefited from the summer holiday and wedding season, this was not enough to counter the substantial slowdown in consumer spending.

"Retailers are caught between significant rising costs in their supply chains and protecting their customers from price rises. The government needs to get creative and find ways to help relieve some of this cost pressure - the upcoming consultation on transitional relief is a golden opportunity to ensure that retailers aren't overpaying on their business rates bills. Government action on transitional relief would make a meaningful difference to retailers' costs and ease pressure on prices for customers."

Paul Martin, UK head of retail at KPMG, said: "Retail sales continued to slide for the third month in a row, albeit down just 1 per cent on what was a strong June 2021 and against a backdrop of unprecedented price rises on the high street.

"Online shopping continued to move in reverse with total sales down 9 per cent as non-food purchases related to the home, such as furniture, home appliances and computing, suffered the biggest falls in online spending.

"The jubilee weekend, which saw street parties across the UK, provided some relief for food and drink retailers as sales grew by nearly 1.5 per cent year on year, despite the rising cost across most items.

"As the cost living crisis continues to deepen, retailers face walking a fine line between protecting margins and further denting consumer confidence by passing on price rises whilst negotiating with their suppliers to share the cost increases.

"Cost and efficiency will dominate retailers' agendas as they are forced to make some tough decisions on which products make it to the shelves in order to remain price competitive for consumers.

"With a long run of hot weather predicted and many consumers choosing to holiday at home this summer, retailers will be hoping that the feel-good factor begins to improve confidence amongst some shoppers - as presently overall confidence levels are lower than sales may suggest."