GENERAL MERCHANDISE NEWS
UK retail sales figures better than expected for March
21 April, 2011 | by Retail Bulletin
UK retail sales grew unexpectedly in March with a rise of 0.2% from February, the Office for National Statistics said today.
Furthermore, sales were up 1.3% compared with the same month in 2010. The increase was led by strong food and non-store sales.
The increase came as a surprise to many analysts who had predicted a gloomier set of figures for the month.
The report showed that small retailers did better than large retailers with sales increasing by 3.9% compared to a 1.2% decrease for the larger stores. Computer and telecomms stores, garden centres and toy stores also performed well.
The figures contrast sharply with reports today that total retail sales in Scotland fell for the first time in a decade.
