A combination of unseasonably sunny weather and the later timing of the Easter break fuelled a sharp increase in retail sales across the UK in April, as consumers headed outdoors and opened their wallets for home and garden improvements, new data shows.
Retail spending rose by 7% year-on-year last month, according to figures from the British Retail Consortium (BRC) and consultancy KPMG — a notable jump from the modest 1.1% increase recorded in March. While the rise was partly driven by Easter falling in April this year rather than March, underlying momentum was evident, with spending in March and April together up 4.3% compared with the same period in 2023.
Separate figures from Barclays echoed the upbeat picture. The bank, which tracks almost 40% of the UK’s credit and debit card transactions, said card spending rose 4.5% in April — the fastest growth since June 2023. The biggest lift came from the leisure sector, with pub, bar and club spending up 6.6%, the largest increase in 16 months.
The good weather also gave garden retailers a spring boost, with spending at garden centres surging 25% in April. DIY sales rose by 4%, likely bolstered by new homeowners preparing for summer renovations following a wave of property completions ahead of the end of the stamp duty holiday.
The Met Office confirmed that April 2025 was the sunniest on record, helping drive sales in both food and non-food sectors. The BRC and KPMG data shows food sales rose by 8.2% year-on-year, outperforming the three-month average growth of 3.9%, while non-food sales jumped 6.1%, also well ahead of the three-month trend.
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