Sunny weather and Easter spending boost UK retail sales by 7%

Food sales up 8.2%

The sunniest April on record combined with the Easter weekend provided a boost to UK retail sales, which were up 7% year-on-year last month, according to the British Retail Consortium (BRC).

This compares with a 4% decline in April 2024, a three-month average growth of 2.9% and a 12-month average growth of 1.4%. US and China make 'substantial progress' in trade deal agreement as tariffs slashed However, while the Easter break provided a positive boost the BRC flagged that this slightly distorted comparisons to last year as it made the results "artificially higher" for April 2025. Combining March and April 2025 versus the same two months last year, total retail sales increased by 4.3%. Last month, food sales rose by 8.2% against a 1.6% decline a year period. Similarl...