The boom in spending on the High Street has begun to slow down after the record Christmas and New Year spending spree, the latest retail sales figures have shown.

Retail sales volumes grew by 0.1% in March, compared with a revised 1.1% in February, according to figures from the Office for National Statistics.

Strong Christmas sales were driven by credit as shoppers turned to plastic rather than cash to pay for their goods.

As a result, retailers and economists have been predicting a slowdown in spending as consumers grapple with paying off credit card bills.

Fashion going strong

Three months after Christmas, spending was still growing, but at a slower pace.

But the annual rate still posted a healthy 5.6% jump, down from 5.8% in the year to February.

The most popular purchases were textiles, clothing and footwear, suggesting that fashion bargains were top of many people's shopping lists.

Sales volumes at stores selling these goods rose 0.9% in March, taking them to 12.9% higher than a year ago.

But general stores, such as department stores, suffered a 1.3% drop in sales in March from the previous month.

It was the worst performance for non-specialist retailers since January 2001.

But the broader trend towards slower sales growth bears out forecasts by the Conference of British Industry and the retail research group Verdict.

Verdict has predicted sales growth in the UK would more than halve by the end of summer.

Retailers see little scope for to raise prices - High Street prices, as measured by the retail sales deflator, rose only 0.1% in March compared to 0.4% in February.