UK retail sales flat in April

Evidence of the adverse affect the cold April weather had on UK clothing and footwear sales continues to pile up - the latest report from the BRC-KPMG Retail Sales Monitor shows sales in the sector fell in the month.

Total retail sales in April were flat at 0%, against a 1.3% decrease in April 2015. The results were helped by a positive Easter distortion, but hindered by record declines in the fashion categories. Like-for-like retail sales fell 0.9%.

Helen Dickinson OBE, CEO of the British Retail Consortium, said: "April saw the second month of flat sales for UK retailers with positive food sales offset by record declines in fashion. As a result, the 12-month average growth for non-food sales slowed to 2.5 per cent while for food sales it nudged back into positive territory at 0.1 percent."

“Over all, flat total sales mask a very mixed picture; some retailers benefitting from the healthy housing market, while others are evidently more susceptible to the effects of lower consumer confidence and a higher proportion of disposable income going into leisure and entertainment. While glimmers of hope are evident, the rapid pace of change in the industry, increasing cost pressures and other businesses burdens remain a cause for concern."

Online non-food retail sales rose by 6.6% in April which, despite being a healthy increase, is the slowest growth since April 2013, Dickinson said. Online remained a significant proportion of total non-food retail sales at 20.9%.

"Today’s monitor also shows that online has been the driving force behind sales growth in the three months to April – digital sales contributed just over two percent to total non-food sales growth while store based transactions fell by 1.3 percent. With consumers no longer thinking in channels, physical stores can continue to contribute to the success of a retailer’s online offer and vice versa," Dickinson added.

UK retail sales flat in April

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