There was positive news for the retail sector, as sales rose by a better than expected 1.6% relative to March. However, the most recent three months’ sales were only up by 0.1% on the prior period, as underlying trends remained sluggish.
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Petrol sales bounced back most strongly, with a 4.7% improvement coming after March’s 6.9% decline, while department stores were the only major category that continued to slide downwards.
Rob Kent-Smith from the Office for National Statistics said, “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”.