Figures show that retail sales fell in August as the cost of living rose.
The Office for National Statistics said that sales fell by 1.6%, much larger than expected.
Food, non-food, online and fuel retail sales fell over the month.
In August, alcohol and tobacco sales rose while supermarket's sales fell.
The month-on-month drop was the largest since December.
"Rising prices and the cost of living crisis is stopping consumers from reaching for their purse when it comes to extra spending, and this is worse than forecasts of a 0.5% fall, and indicates this is preventing consumers from reaching for their purse when it comes to extra spending," said Mr. Lund-
Households have tightened their belts due to higher prices and upcoming energy bill increases.
Consumers are cutting back on spending because of higher prices and affordability concerns, according to feedback from retailers.
Department stores saw a big drop in sales in August, according to the ONS.
John Lewis said that customers were spending less and not buying as many big ticket items.
The loss for the first half of the year was almost a billion dollars for the department store and supermarket. It said it was not unusual to make a loss in the first half and that Christmas made a difference.
The basket sizes of the baskets have shrunk by nearly a fifth.
The invasion of Ukraine by Russia has caused food prices to increase around the world.
The percentage of retail sales online fell to 25.7% in August from 26.3% in July.
UK inflation, which measures the rate at which prices rise, fell to 9.9% in August from 10.1% in July, but is still at a 40-year high.
The Bank of England is trying to control rising prices. The Bank has warned of high inflation.
The retail sales figures supported Capital Economics' view that the UK economy is already in recession.
A recession happens when the economy gets smaller for two straight months.
As the cost of living crisis hits harder in the coming months, retail sales will probably continue to struggle.
The Bank of England will need to raise interest rates.
Any recession would be smaller and shorter than before because of the government's Energy Price Guarantee, according to Ms Cross.
Before the government took action, gas and electricity bills were expected to go up to over $4,000 a year.
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