UK retail sales fall more than expected amid wet weather

UK retail sales fell at the fastest pace in 2024 as consumers delayed spending due to rainy weather, highlighting a threat to the economy's fragile recovery.

The volume of goods sold in stores and online plunged 2.3 per cent in April after a downwardly revised 0.2 per cent decline the month before, said the Office for National Statistics (ONS) on May 24. That was much sharper than the 0.5 per cent drop economists had expected. It was also the worst reading since last December, when the UK dipped into recession.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's government is betting that an improving economy will help close a 20-point gap with the opposition Labour Party in a general election set for July 4. Official data from retailers underscored a continuing cost-of-living squeeze, with shoppers paying more to buy a smaller basket of goods after the worst inflation in four decades.

A separate report from market research firm GfK showed consumer confidence perked up in May, but an index tracking the willingness of households to splash out on big-ticket items declined one point to minus 26. "The costof-living crisis is still a day-to-day reality for all of us," said GfK client strategy director Joe Staton.

Rain has been a constant feature of UK economic releases in the past year, holding back consumer spending. It was even cited as a factor in the 2023 recession, when the wettest October since 1836 was a drag on construction, retail, pubs and tourism.