Uncertainty over Brexit and hesitation by shoppers over spending are combining to keep the British economy at a subdued rate of growth, analysts said Thursday.

New figures for shop sales confirmed that while the British economy is not set for a downturn in the face of Brexit uncertainty, its high street retailers are not seeing significant sales growth and overall GDP growth seems set to remain flat.

The Office of National Statistics (ONS) figures for retail sales showed 1.4 percent annual growth in April, and a monthly increase of 1.6 percent. The higher monthly growth figure reflects a recovery in sales from a weather-affected March.

"The rise in retail sales in April reflects a recovery from snow-induced weakness in March, rather than robust underlying momentum in spending," said Samuel Tombs, chief British economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics.

Retail sales volumes in April were the first this year to reach the 2017 peak set in November, and the underlying trend still looks flat.

This data confirms the continued subdued economic growth revealed in GDP growth figures for the first quarter revealed at the end of April which showed quarterly growth slowing to 0.1 percent, the weakest since 2012.

Consumer spending is unlikely to significantly improve this, and Tombs said he expects retail spending to increase "only at a glacial rate this year" as households kept hold of their money against a background of uncertainty over jobs.

"Consumer confidence has weakened and savings intentions have picked up. Both business surveys and job vacancy data point to a slowdown in employment growth," he added.

While this will not harm the economy, it does remove the momentum for accelerated growth.

The rise of online stores is also a challenge to traditional retailers, and the ONS data showed a record 17.1 percent of clothing and footwear sales occurring online in April.

The announcement on Wednesday that one of the flagship high-street retailers Marks & Spencer now plans to shut 100 high-street stores in the next four years after its profits fell in the year to March by 75 percent is the latest and most high-profile example of this challenge.

Last week, babycare retailer Mothercare announced it would cut 800 jobs and close 30 stores, a third of its total, in an attempt to avoid going bust as it faced the rise of online retailing.