UK BRC Retail Sales Rise In April

(RTTNews) - UK retail sales grew strongly in April largely due to the timing of the Easter and good weather conditions, data from the British Retail Consortium showed Tuesday.

Total retail sales increased 7.0 percent on a yearly basis in April in contrast to the 4.0 percent decline in the same period last year.

In order to mitigate the annual timing of Easter, combined sales for March and April showed a 4.3 percent annual increase in total sales.

Food sales grew 8.2 percent year-on-year in April, in contrast to the 1.6 percent fall a year ago. At the same time, non-food sales advanced 6.1 percent compared to a decline of 6 percent last year.

"The sunniest April on record brought with it a boost to retail sales," BRC Chief Executive Helen Dickinson said.

"While the stronger performance was partially a result of Easter falling in April this year, the sunshine prompted strong consumer spending across the board," Dickinson added.

Drier weather boosted clothing and garden related sales, while the uptick in house buying to avoid high stamp duty likely filtered through to furniture and DIY related sales, as well as other homewares, said KPMG Retail and Leisure UK Head of Consumer Linda Ellett.