April High Street sales figures are mixed.
High street retailers enjoyed a slight uplift in takings during April, with overall sales increasing by 1.7 per cent according to the High Street Sales Tracker from BDO LLP.
Fashion’s new season boost, helped by an early Easter and sunny weather, was partly offset by weaker trade across some mainstream brands. Like-for-like sales rose by 3.4 per cent, compared to an 8.4 per cent rise in March.
Non-fashion sales turned negative across the board with a 3.2 per cent decrease, compared to a 7.2 per cent rise in March.
Prompted by the improved weather, DIY activity continued to be popular, helping homeware like-for likes increase by 4.7 per cent.
Sales through non-store channels and online continued a strong run with a monthly gain of over 46 per cent.
Don Williams, Head of Retail at BDO LLP commented: “These results are slightly below expectations and despite relatively strong homeware spending, trade was sluggish. Non-fashion sales, in particular, decreased relatively steeply due to less spending from overseas tourists.
“With a new government yet to form, retailers and consumers are uncertain about what the future holds in terms of tax increases and spending cuts. However, we remain optimistic that retail spending will hold-up during the second half of the year”
