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Clothing and footwear fuel April sales, but department stores lag behind

By Don-Alvin Adegeest

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Retail

UK retail sales bounced back in April seeing a growth of 1.6 percent in all sectors after seeing decline in March, according to the Office for National Statistics.

Department stores, however, showed a different monthly picture as the only sector to report a fall in quantities bought, at negative 0.9 percent in April following strong online sales in March.

Fashion retail fuelled the sales, underscoring retail's biggest growth in 18 months, with clothing and footwear seeing 17.3 percent year on year growth.

Commenting on the official retail figures, Rob Kent-Smith, Head of National Accounts stated: "Retail sales bounced back in April, as petrol and other sales recovered from the snowfall. But the underlying position remains subdued with the volume of goods sold over the last six months broadly unchanged."

"Increases were seen across all sectors in April, except department stores. Department stores declined following relatively strong sales last month, when their online sales were boosted during the adverse weather.

"Over the longer-term, retail sales growth has slowed considerably, with increases in food, household goods and internet retailers being largely offset by declines across all other types of retailing."

Figures for May are likely to be boosted by the royal wedding and retailers are optimistic the World Cup will boost sales in June.

The ONS compiles data for its Monthly Business Survey (MBS) for retail sales measures output from the retail industry in Great Britain. It samples 5,000 businesses, with all businesses employing over 100 people or with an annual turnover of more than 60 million pounds receiving an online questionnaire every month.

Credits: Article source, Office for National Statistics, image: Wikipedia Commons Gillingham High Street

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