Shop sales helped by late Easter

Like-for-like sales - which ignore new store openings - in April were up 6.8% on the same period last year, according to the British Retail Consortium (BRC).

However, in the period from February to April, sales fell by 0.02% compared with the same period last year.

Warmer weather helped to lift clothing and footwear sales, the BRC said, and sales were up in the DIY sector.

Caution

However, the BRC warned against reading too much into the figures given that Easter was in April whereas last year it was in March.

"While any uplift in sales is welcome, the distortion arising from the timing of Easter and the weather underlines the need for caution in interpreting these figures," said BRC director general Kevin Hawkins,

The sales of big value items were driven mainly by discounts, the BRC said.

Helen Dickinson, head of retail at consulting firm KPMG, said: "Whilst traders will not be getting carried away with these results they will be hoping that they signal the start to a strong summer trading period."

The BRC's figures echo findings by the Confederation of British Industry issued last week.

The CBI's distributive trades survey also said that the late Easter helped to lift High Street sales, and found that DIY retailers, who typically benefit from a strong Easter, saw their first growth since December 2004.

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