Retail sales in the three largest eurozone economies - Germany, France and Italy - have fallen to their second lowest level on record, a survey says.
The purchasing managers' index (PMI) for the three countries, compiled by research firm Markit, fell to 41.3 in April, down from 49.1 in March and the weakest reading since November 2008.
A reading below 50 indicates shrinking activity.
Markit said it had been a "torrid" start to the second quarter of 2012.
The rate of contraction in Germany was the fastest since April 2010.
French retailers said the presidential elections had disrupted sales and contributed to the biggest drop since the survey began in 2004,
The Markit index has now posted contractions every month since last June.
Trevor Balchin, senior economist at Markit, said: "The latest batch of retail PMI for the eurozone posted a worryingly steep downturn on the High Street.
"The retail data point to a deepening recession at the start of the second quarter."
Markit said its findings suggested that the pace of decline in retail sales as measured by the EU's statistics office, Eurostat, would pick up again in the coming months.
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