Retail sales damaged by early Easter

Retail sales fell in April as an early Easter “pulled” sales into March and impacted results, according to new figures released today. 

This is according to the monthly British Retail Consortium (BRC) and KPMG Retail Sales Monitor which found like-for-like sales decreased by 2.4% compared with April last year, when they had increased by 4.2%.

On a total basis, April retail sales were down 1.3% against a 5.7% rise in the same month last year.

Despite this, the three-month average, which removes the distorting effect of Easter, showed the strongest underlying growth since June last year. Over the period, total non-food sales grew 3.2% and outperformed its 12-month average of 3%.

Helen Dickinson, director general at the BRC, said: “April witnessed a solid performance for fashion and beauty retailers; particularly welcome following a disappointing autumn and winter season.

“While the early Easter this year heavily distorted April’s figures, across all categories, we see the best three-month average year-on-year growth since June of last year; a clear indication that confidence among consumers is slowly improving and that despite profitability being under intense pressure due to changes in shopping habits and promotional activity, retail remains a robust pillar of the economy.”

The BRC-KPMG Online Retail Sales Monitor also reported the best online sales growth in six months. Online sales of non-food products in the UK grew 15.4% in April versus a year earlier, when they had grown 11.2%.

The non-food online penetration rate was 17.6%, up from 15.9% in the same month last year.

David McCorquodale, head of retail at KPMG, said: “The online channel recovered in April to record its best month for half a year and contributed significantly to retail sales growth. This month’s figures highlight that online sales remain a crucial pillar of retailers’ revenues and an important channel for the consumer.”