Retail sales suffered a bigger-than-expected drop in January, the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) has said. Leather and footwear shops dropped back the most over the month, but supermarkets like Tesco actually increased their turnover.

“As retailers had feared, the spending surge seen in December was short-lived and not sustained into the New Year,” said John Longworth, chairman of the CBI survey’s panel. “Any pick-up will depend on price discounts and promotions.”

Retail analyst Debbie Harrison said: “The numbers aren’t good, but the drop was one of the smallest for eight months, and I’m confident that sales will recover as we go into the New Year.”