Shoppers cut back their retail spending last month, with Australia recording its weakest annual growth on record outside the pandemic and the introduction of the GST.

In the 12 months to March, sales by businesses as tracked by the Australian Bureau of Statistics lifted 0.8 per cent.

ABS head of retail statistics Ben Dorber said this was the weakest growth on record, outside of the pandemic period and introduction of the GST, when comparing turnover to the same time in the previous year.

“Consumers pulled back on retail spending in March as cost of living pressures remained high,” Mr Dorber said.

On a monthly basis, sales fell 0.4 per cent, which followed a 0.2 per cent rise in February, and one per cent lift in January.

Dorber said underlying retail turnover had been flat for the past six months.

Higher mortgage repayments, a growing tax take and elevated prices have been taking a toll on Australian consumers and leading to weakness in retail sales, especially across discretionary goods and services.

Turnover fell in all industries in March with the exception of food retailing, which rose 0.9 per cent.

– AAP