Sunnier weather in the second half of April gave a boost to UK retail sales, but overall sales were down on the previous month.
UK retail like-for-like sales were down 2.2% in April, the British Retail Consortium (BRC) reported today – hit by an early Easter, which fell in March this year.
However, three-month total average growth – which accounts for the Easter distortion – was 2.6%.
“On the surface these are really poor figures but they’re hiding another respectable month. The fact that the boost from Easter didn’t fall in April this year hit food sales in particular. But, taking away the Easter distortion, this was actually a better month than March, especially for non-food sales,” said director general of the BRC, Helen Dickinson.
“Wintry weather, followed by the arrival of sun, had a big influence on some retailers. Fashion sales were weak early in the month but that was almost entirely made up later when signs of spring arrived.”
Reflecting on the three-month trend, KPMG’s head of retail, David McCorquodale, called it a “positive result”. “Despite the cold weather of the last few months, the health of the retail sector is holding up and may be on a positive trajectory.”
Figures from Nielsen, also released today, showed that sales growth for UK supermarkets fell 1.4% year on year in the four weeks to 27 April. However, the last two weeks of that period saw sales grow 2.8%.
“If the sun comes out, we can expect growths to improve to around +3.5% across the industry. However, food inflation in supermarkets – currently at its lowest rate since July 2010 – will temper sales growths,” said Nielsen’s UK head of retailer insight, Mike Watkins.
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