UK sales down despite early Easter

Wintry weather and consumer caution hit home last month as like-for-like sales fell by 1.6%, according to the British Retail Consortium (BRC).

The depressing figures confounded expectations of a sales boost from the early holiday period, with almost every sector suffering.

Clothing and footwear stores saw their worst showing for eight years as the weather dampened demand for summer wares, while consumers also cut back on big-ticket furniture and electronic goods.

BRC director-general Stephen Robertson said: "Here is the strongest evidence yet that customers are making serious economies and are increasingly concerned about the future. It's clear customers are concentrating on essentials."

Food and drink was one of the few sectors to buck the wider gloom, although sales growth was at its lowest since July last year. Customers bought Easter eggs and rushed to buy wines and spirits before Chancellor Alistair Darling's Budget duty hikes came into force.

The BRC added that the timing of Easter - with schools on holiday at different times - and the poor weather made comparisons more difficult.

But Helen Dickinson, head of retail at accountants KPMG, said: "Given the timing of Easter, one thing we expected was this month's figures to be strong. Instead, we have the worst monthly performance since July 2005.

"Retailers were hit by the double whammy of an early Easter and poor weather even before factoring in the slowdown in consumer spending on the back of rising inflation, falling house prices and the impact on consumer confidence of the credit crisis."

The BRC's quarterly sales measure showed like for like sales just 0.8% ahead of the first three months of last year.