British Retail Consortium shows upbeat consumer sentiment in March
The British Retail Consortium’s upbeat retail sales data for March painted a brighter picture of consumer sentiment.
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The data showed that British retail spending rose at its fastest annual rate in almost a year last month, boosted by Easter falling a month earlier than in 2014, the BRC said.
Total retail sales in March rose 4.7% compared to the same month last year, the biggest year-on-year rise for 11 months, and much stronger than the 1.7% growth booked last month.
The BRC’s indicator for online sales of non-food products in the UK grew 12.3% in March versus a year earlier, when it had risen by 12.8% over the previous year.
The data showed that March’s growth is the best since October 2014 and is in line with the 12-month average of 12.1%. In March 2015, online sales represented 17.6% of total non-food sales, against 16.9% in March 2014.
An early Easter and better economic news helped lift retail sales out of the doldrums in March and the sector posted the strongest sales growth seen in nearly a year, said David McCorquodale, head of retail at KPMG.
"While the figures are inflated by the timing of Easter, they are still a welcome boost for retailers who have battled flat or falling like for like sales for the last quarter,” added McCorquodale.
Analysts at stockbroker Shore Capital pointed out that whilst cash values in March were ahead by 4.7%, volumes were considerably stronger due to the impact of deflation, which the separate BRC-Nielsen monthly analysis states was most recently running at 2.1% in aggregate, the deepest level ever recorded by the survey.
Accordingly, volumes were up by 6.8%, which ShoreCap said was "a healthier number from which the trade should extract some productivity".
Within the retail categories and channels the broker noted that the high street had a robust March, which "may be a benefit" to the likes of Greggs; a decent month for food "is encouraging for the beleaguered supermarkets"; home furnishings and furniture were also said to be a relative winner, "which may boost Carpetright"; while the fashion segment was that little bit slower despite the return to form for Marks & Spencer.