People walk in the rain across London Bridge in central London, March 12, 2024.
Lucy North – Pa Pictures | Pa Pictures | Getty Images
LONDON – Retail sales in the United Kingdom fell 2.3% in April as wet weather deterred shoppers, the Office for National Statistics said on Friday.
Economists polled by Reuters expected a smaller decline of 0.4%.
“Sales volumes fell across most sectors, with clothing retailers, sporting goods stores, games and toy stores and furniture stores performing poorly as poor weather reduced footfall,” the ONS said. The March figure was revised from unchanged to a decline of 0.2%.
After a weak December and Christmas period, sales in the three months to April rose 0.7% compared to the previous three months but fell 0.8% year-on-year.
Kris Hamer, director of insight at the British Retail Consortium, pointed to bright spots in the data in cosmetics and computer sales.
“With summer just around the corner and inflation fast approaching the Bank of England’s 2 percent target, retailers are hoping that consumer confidence will improve and spending will pick up,” Hamer said in a note.
Consumer confidence improved in May regarding both personal finances and the outlook for the overall economy, according to a survey released Friday by GfK.
Headline inflation in the UK fell to 2.3% from 3.2% in April, figures released on Wednesday showed. However, persistent inflation in the core and services sectors led markets to push back their bets on an initial BOE rate cut from June to August or September.
Phil Monkhouse, UK country manager at financial services firm Ebury, said the surprise general election, announced this week for July 4, could bring “new uncertainty” to the minds of consumers already struggling with higher interest rates.
“Preparing for warmer weather, ensuring easy access to finance and putting hedging arrangements in place will be crucial for retailers looking to weather future fluctuations in sales,” Monkhouse said.
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2024-05-24 07:51:02
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