UK retail sales were up 2.4% on a like-for-like basis, compared with April 2006, when sales had risen 6.8%, largely because Easter fell in April in 2006 but in March in 2005.
The three-month trend rate of growth slipped to 3.3% from 3.5% in March, for like-for-like sales, and to 5.5% from 5.7% for total sales, reflecting the growth of retail space.
Clothing and footwear showed excellent growth in the warm sunny weather, which also boosted DIY, gardening and outdoor leisure, especially over the hot Easter weekend. Homewares, especially big-ticket, suffered as the weather turned shoppers' minds to outdoors rather than indoors.
Consumer confidence remained weak, despite edging upwards, and spending plans were still cautious.
Kevin Hawkins, Director General, BRC comments: “This is a good result, helped by the exceptionally warm and dry weather which prevailed through most of the month. Predictably, some categories did better than others, although there was a general falling-off in sales growth towards the end of the month. Now that Easter distortions are out of the way, we should get a clearer reading of the real level of sales growth as May progresses.”
Helen Dickinson, Head of Retail, KPMG comments: "The continuation of the warm weather encouraged women out to buy this month, with footwear in particular being the best performing sector - women's clothing took the top spot in March. However, despite April's Easter break,home-related sectors still found the going tough. All in all, the results for April were below the trend of the last quarter and could represent the beginning of a lower growth phase as the comparatives become tougher and the outlook less favourable."
marketing@alchempro.com
