UK shoppers celebrate Easter and the sunshine with a spending splurge

LONDON: British shoppers overcame their worries about a global trade war and sharply increased their spending in April with Easter and sunny weather boosting sales of food, gardening equipment and clothing, data showed on Tuesday.

Sales reported by members of the British Retail Consortium trade body jumped by 7.0% from April last year, helped by the timing of the Easter holiday. It was the biggest year-on-year increase for any month since the COVID-19 pandemic period.

Clothing sales picked up as the sunniest April in the UK since records began in 1910 prompted shoppers to refresh their wardrobes after a weak run.

Over March and April combined, smoothing out the distortions caused by Easter falling in April this year and in March in 2024, sales were up by 4.3% compared with a year earlier.

Separate data published by Barclays showed a similar bounce in consumer spending last month: the bank’s measure of transactions on spending cards rose by 4.5% compared with April 2024, the biggest annual increase since June 2023.

It was also the first time that the increase in spending was stronger than inflation in more than two years, Barclays said.

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A survey included in the bank’s spending report showed almost three in four consumers were worried about the impact of U.S. President Donald Trump’s trade war on household finances.

However, that represented a slight fall from early April and overall confidence among households about their finances remained unchanged from March at 70%, Barclays said.

The Bank of England, which cut interest rates last week, is watching for signs that the uncertainty hanging over the global economy since Trump announced his high import tariffs on April 2 - many of which have since been suspended - is slowing demand.