In April, UK retail sales volumes dropped by 2.3%, following a 0.2% decrease in March. Over the year, volumes fell by 2.7%. Sales declined in most sectors, particularly in clothing and furniture stores due to poor weather affecting footfall. Meanwhile, online spending decreased by 1.2% in April.
UK retail sales volumes dropped by 2.3% in April, following a 0.2% decline in March. Year-on-year, sales were down 2.7% and remained 3.8% below pre-pandemic levels. Various sectors, including clothing, sports equipment, and furniture, experienced decreases due to poor weather impacting foot traffic.
In the three months leading up to April, retail sales volumes increased by 0.7% compared to the previous quarter but fell by 0.8% year on year. Non-food stores sales volumes dropped by 4.1% in April, the largest decrease since January 2021. Online spending also decreased by 1.2% in April and 1.5% over the year. Total spend fell by 2.6% in April, leading to an increase in the proportion of sales made online from 26.2% in March to 26.5% in April.
