The British Retail Consortium reported that UK total retail sales increased by 5.1% in April, against a decline of 0.3% in April 2022.
This is in line with the 3-month average growth of 5.1% and above the 12-month average growth of 3.0%.
Non-food sales increased 1.2% on a total basis and 0.8% on a like-for-like basis over the three-months to April. This is above the 12-month total average growth of 0.2%. For the month of April, Non-Food was in growth year-on-year.
Online non-food sales decreased by 3.6% in April, against a decline of 13.9% in April 2022. This is steeper than the three-month average decline of 2.9% and shallower than the 12-month decline of 4.4%.
The proportion of non-food items bought online (penetration rate) decreased to 37.3% in April from 38.8% in April 2022.
Helen Dickinson OBE, chief executive of the BRC, said: “While retail sales grew in April, overall inflation meant volumes were down for both food and non-food as customers continued to adjust spending habits.
“Retailers hope sales will improve over the warmer summer months, especially as consumer confidence stabilises and inflation begins to ease. However, they continue to face huge cost pressures from a tight labour market, high energy prices, and other rising input costs, with many retailers reporting lower profits this year as a result.
“Government needs to ensure that any additional regulatory cost burdens are kept to a minimum as these add to inflation.”
Paul Martin, UK head of retail at KPMG, added: “Retail sales held steady in April with 5% growth on last year, but against a background of higher inflation year-on-year, masking how much is actually healthy growth for the sector.
“Consumer demand has so far been fairly resilient to the twin drags of high inflation and high interest rates, but as government energy support comes to an end for many, savings start to dwindle and other household bills rise, it is likely that the next few months will continue to be challenging as the consumer tank empties.”
