Sectors: Retail

An uptick in clothing and department store sales offset flat food sales in April, helping to push British retail revenues slightly higher than expected.

According to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), high street sales, including petrol and diesel sales, grew by 0.3 per cent in April, ahead of the 0.2 per cent pencilled in by sector analysts and up 1.8 per cent year-on-year.

These ONS figures would seem to suggest that UK consumers are beginning to emerge with a renewed appetite for splashing the cash following the most severe recession experienced since the Second World War. Pharmacy giant Alliance Boots confirmed this view, recently cheering investors with its first annual £1 billion profit.

Tellingly, retail experts say the latest ONS figures are more reliable than other recent retail data, since the skewing influence of January’s VAT hike and the nation’s cold snap has now passed. BNP Paribas economist Alan Clarke commented, ‘As a series, it is looking pretty respectable. However, if we get a strong fiscal tightening, the rate of growth may not last until the end of the year.’

Respected HIS Global Insight voice Howard Archer opined, ‘The consumer is alive but not kicking particularly hard. Indeed, we suspect that the upside for consumer spending –  and hence economic growth – will be limited for some time to come as households still face very challenging conditions.’