Today (23 May) saw the release of retail sales data for April, delivered by the Office for National Statistics.
The report found that food store sales volumes rose by 3.9% in that month, mostly recovering from falls in February and March. Supermarkets, specialist food stores such as butchers and bakers, as well as alcohol and tobacco stores all grew during April this year, with some retailers attributing this to the good weather that month.
In response, Kris Hamer (left), director of insight at the British Retail Consortium (BRC), said: “April retail sales saw the highest growth since August 2023 thanks to Easter and the sunniest April on record. With the first taste of summer, consumer spending was up across the board, with sales of food and drink performing particularly well as people hosted Easter gatherings, barbecues and picnics.”
However, Hamer went on to add that retailers shouldn’t consider this a normal set of results, and advised some caution in light of upcoming new costs for the industry. “Darker days are coming as April brought an additional £5bn in costs to retailers from increases in Employer National Insurance Contributions and the new National Living Wage.
“This is set to increase to £7bn once the new packaging tax is introduced later this year. On top of this, proposed changes to business rates could see 4,000 shops facing higher costs, putting local jobs and businesses at risk across the country. If the Government wants to protect our high streets, it must ensure no shop pays more under the reforms.”
No comments yet