UK Sales Growth Rate Slowing Down

The latest British Retail Consortium/KPMG Retail Sales Monitor shows the three-month growth rate down from 2.6 per cent in March to 1.7 per cent in April for like-for-like sales, and from 5.9 per cent to 4.8 per cent for total sales. The BRC said year-on-year comparisons were still artificially boosted by the weak April 2003, when trade was hit by the Iraq war though to a lesser extent than in March.

Cooler weather this April also hit sales, particularly those of lighter clothing, sandals and gardening products. In contrast, Easter boosted sales of perfumery, home accessories and flowers. In clothing, womenswear was generally stronger than menswear, though some men's designer styles sold well Footwear sales also showed some improvement, but were adversely affected by the poor weather in the first part of the month.