Flooding and washout weather across Britain hit the High Street last month, but not as badly as expected according to new figures.
BDO's high street sales tracker showed a 0.9% fall in like-for-like sales among mid-market retailers in February.
Fashion sales were badly impacted, falling by 3.3% year-on-year, although non fashion rose 2.4% thanks to a boost in demand for rain-proof clothing and outdoor goods.
But BDO said the sales slide "could have been much worse", given the dire weather and as shops brought their new year discount promotions to a close.
Last year, retailers had resorted to extending deep discounting into February, which pushed sales 3.9% higher.
Don Williams, national head of retail and wholesale at BDO, added: "The January sales tend to condition shoppers against paying full price, but retailers have been noticeably bolder about protecting their margins this year and most have avoided continued, deep discounting into February.
"The bad weather has certainly had an impact on footfall, but retailers are telling us that those consumers that braved the elements were spending and that conversion rates were up, which softened the blow."
It is the latest sign that retailers escaped relatively unscathed from the extreme wet weather.
Recent figures from business body the CBI suggested retail sales over the end of January and beginning of February rose to their highest for more than a year and a half.
The CBI's poll of 120 firms between January 23 and February 12 showed 45% of retailers overall said sales volumes in the year to February were higher, while 8% said they were down, giving a balance of 37% - the best reading since June 2012.
Internet retailers have also been faring better as shoppers have shunned rain-lashed high streets.
BDO said non-store sales leapt by a better-than-expected 37.3% last month, against a 23.5% rise a year earlier.
The report, which surveyed 85 mid-tier retailers with around 10,000 stores, said sales of homewares were also sharply higher, up 9.8% on a year earlier.
