LONDON, May 23 (Xinhua) -- Britain's retail sales volumes went up 1.2 percent in April, marking a rise for the fourth consecutive month in the year, official data showed Friday.
The reading was up 0.3 percent compared with the pre-pandemic level in February 2020, reaching the highest level since July 2022, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
The country's retail sales volumes increased 1.8 percent in the period from February to April, in comparison with the previous quarter. The figure also climbed 2.6 percent year on year, registering the strongest expansion since March 2022.
Kris Hamer, director of insight at the British Retail Consortium, attributed the fast growth of April retail sales to the Easter holiday and the sunniest April on record.
"With the first taste of summer, consumer spending was up across the board, with sales of food and drink performing particularly well as people hosted Easter gatherings, barbecues, and picnics. Sales of clothing and footwear were also boosted as consumers refreshed their summer wardrobes for the unseasonally warm weather."
Continued good weather helped promote retail sales with strong trading across most sectors, according to the ONS. In April, sales volumes of food stores went up 3.9 percent, with supermarkets, specialist food stores such as butchers and bakers, and alcohol and tobacco stores all growing.
Despite the boost in retail sales, Hamer voiced worries about the increased costs to retailers, noting that "Darker days are coming as April brought an additional 5 billion pounds (6.7 billion U.S. dollars) in costs to retailers from increases in Employer National Insurance Contributions and National Living Wage."
This is set to increase to 7 billion pounds once the new packaging tax is introduced later this year, Hamer said, adding that proposed changes to business rates could see 4,000 shops facing higher costs, putting local jobs and businesses at risk across the country.
Friday's data also showed Britain's online spending values fell 0.3 percent in April, following two months of growth. (1 pound = 1.34 U.S. dollar) ■
