Sunshine drives biggest leap in retail sales for four years

Sunny spring weather sent shoppers flocking to supermarkets and specialists such as butchers, bakers and alcohol merchants last month, fuelling the strongest quarterly jump in retail sales in Great Britain in almost four years.

- Mark Sweney and Sarah Butler

Retail sales volumes rose by 1.2% in April, well above City forecasts of an increase of between 0.2% and 0.4%, marking the fourth straight month of sales growth.

The figures indicate that UK households splashed out on barbecues and holiday gatherings as they enjoyed the sunniest and third-warmest April on record, with just over half the average rainfall, according to the Met Office.

The Office for National Statistics said that over the three months to the end of April, sales rose by 1.8%, compared with the November to January period, marking the largest quarterly rise since July 2021.

The strong growth came despite the ONS revising down the 0.4% rise it had estimated in March to only 0.1%.