As one of the worst ever summers for high street sales draws to a close, retailers are set for more bad news, new figures suggest.
Data from the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) shows one in five stores predict the situation will get worse during the next quarter compared to 13% expecting trade to pick up.
It is the first time in seven years more retailers have been despondent than hopeful about future prospects, the CBI said.
Some 45% of shops reported sales were down in August compared to the same month last year, while 27% experienced a rise.
The resulting balance of minus 18% is despite heavy price cuts and extended summer sales which lasted longer than in previous years.
The underlying annual sales trend, measured over three months, is the weakest in the 22-year history of the CBI survey.
"Conditions in August continued to be very tough for retailers, and many fear the outlook is going to get worse before it improves, despite the recent interest rate cut," said John Longworth, chairman of the CBI's distributive trades survey panel.
"Some held earlier and longer summer sales despite margins already being very tight, but there has been little sign in this survey of a response from consumers."
