Retail sales were static through August, holding at July's level, which was revised downward by the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
The ONS revised July's 0.3% fall down to a larger 0.6%. Defying analysts' expectations of a small climb on the backs of food store sales, overall retail sales finished August unchanged from the previous month.
Food store sales dropped 1.2% in August, their biggest decline since January 2003.
Figures show the annual month-on-month rate of increase at 0.8% over last year, its weakest mark since May, which was then the weakest since January 1996.
Growth in the three months to August, however, rose by 0.8%, but the ONS warned those figures will likely dip next month when the robust June numbers are taken out of the equation.
Non-food stores posted growth of 0.8%, but trading conditions remained tough. High street fashion chain Next recorded its worst like-for-like sales in 10 years, underscoring retailers' struggles.
"We believe that a return to underlying growth will come with a significant reduction in interest rates and that inflationary pressures, most notably from oil and services, may delay that event," the store's chief executive, Simon Wolfson, said.
The numbers are expected to put further pressure on the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) to cut the national interest rate again this year.
