UK Retail sales show significant improvement

New figures show that, in April, British retail sales grew at their fastest rate for five years.

According to the British Retail Consortium (BRC), annual like-for-like sales were up 2.5 per cent, compared with a decline of 3.5 per cent in March.

It is thought that a number of factors contributed to the improvement, including the warm weather, Easter and the nuptials of Prince William and Kate Middleton - which VisitBritain predicted would boost the country's tourism industry by an estimated £2 billion.

In particular, clothing and footwear performed well, while food sales also returned to growth.

However, the BRC warned that the overall trend may not be as good as it initially seems.

"Considered together, the results for March and April largely cancel each other out and the overall trend is flat," the organisation's director-general Stephen Robertson stated.
He said that "underlying pressures" on the retail sector and depressed consumer spending will still impact on the sector over the coming months.

Source : Jacqueline Farrar - In the News.co.uk
www.inthenews.co.uk/news/business/british-retail-sales-show-significant-improvement-$21386441.htm