UK retail sales increased in March as improving weather boosted house and garden related purchases, the British Retail Consortium reported Tuesday.
Retail sales grew 1.1 percent on a yearly basis in March. However, this was slower than the 3.5 percent growth in the same period last year.
This year, Easter is in April, while it was in March last year. This has distorted the annual comparison and made March 2025 sales lower.
Food sales grew 1.6 percent annually, following last year’s 8.3 percent surge. Meanwhile, non-food sales gained 0.6 percent, in contrast to the 0.4 percent fall last year.
“Despite a challenging global geopolitical landscape, the small increase in both food and non-food sales masked signs of underlying strengthening of demand given March 2025’s comparison with last year’s early Easter,” BRC Chief Executive Helen Dickinson said.
With improving weather, gardening and DIY equipment sales increased sharply, Dickinson noted. “Retailers are making final preparations for Easter, with food expected to be the big winner next month,” she added.
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