2024-05-07 10:54:06
Retail sales in Britain fell 4 percent in April from a year earlier amid rainy weather in the country and the fact that this year’s Easter holidays for Catholics and Protestants were still in late March. This is according to a study by the British Retail Consortium (BRC) and the auditing and financial consulting company KPMG (KPMG), BTA reported.
The earlier Catholic Easter caused unusually high retail sales volume in March, as opposed to April.
Even when seasonally adjusted, UK retail sales growth in March and April was just 0.2 per cent, below the average for the same period of 0.5 per cent, the study’s authors said.
Food sales rose 4.4 percent year-on-year, up from a 9.8 percent jump in April 2023. The non-food group reported a 2.8 percent decline.
Clothing, footwear and home and garden goods, which traditionally enjoy increased interest from British consumers in the spring, saw a decline in retail sales. According to market analysts, this was due to the gloomy and rainy weather in many areas of the UK in April.
Appliance sales saw a slight uptick as consumers moved toward more modern computers, cellphones and other devices, the survey found.