UK retail sales volumes rose by a healthy percentage month on month in April, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said Friday, with a 1.2% spike following a rise of only 0.1% in March (revised down from an estimated 0.4% in the last ONS bulletin).
That was far from surprising given that Easter was late this year and that the weather turned surprisingly warm and sunny.
Monthly sales volumes actually rose for the fourth consecutive month and volumes also rose by 5% year on year. Again, this is far from surprising given that last April didn’t include Easter and didn’t benefit from the warm weather.
The ONS also said that volumes were up by 0.3% compared with their pre-Covid level in February 2020, reaching their highest level since July 2022.
But it wasn’t all good news because, while sales volumes rose across most sectors, they fell month on month in clothing and ‘other’ non-food stores (such as sports and games retailers, and secondhand goods stores). That said, these drops mainly followed strong growth in March 2025.
Sales for department stores and household goods stores rose on the month, with retailer comments again mentioning the good weather. This all meant that overall non-food stores sales volumes (the total of department, clothing, household and ‘other’) fell by 0.7% over the month.
Online sales also fell in April following two months of growth with the ONS reporting a 0.3% value fall month on month. But values rose by 6.1% year on year.
And total spend (the sum of in-store and online sales) rose by 0.7% over the month. As a result, the proportion of sales made online fell from 27.1% in March 2025 to 26.8% in April 2025.
So what’s the reaction from the industry and analysts? Deann Evans, MD EMEA, at Shopify, said: “Our data revealed the sales of sporting goods were on the up. This may signal a boom to come for retailers selling outdoor/sport/holiday inventory and even the travel industry itself as UK consumers are clearly readying themselves for activities in all climates.
“Building on the momentum seen so far, there’s no reason why retail sales shouldn’t continue to rise in the months ahead. With May kicking off the run up to notable events in June such as Beyoncé’s UK Tour and Glastonbury Festival, there is a solid opportunity for retailers to capitalise. As seen with the ‘Taylor Swift Effect’ last year, celebrities and cultural moments are powerful for driving consumer behaviour. It is therefore vital that merchants who offer merchandise and festival products are ready to capitalise on the opportunity with the right solutions; once demand starts reaching new heights, having the supply chain flexibility and digital infrastructure to fulfil orders is crucial to seize these game-changing moments”.
Jim Rudall, regional director, EMEA at Intuit Mailchimp, echoed that: “Interestingly, our research has revealed how consumer spending is evolving to become less driven by discount promotions but rather a rhythm of personal, cultural and community-driven moments. With May bringing two bank holidays, the FA Cup Final and Eurovision, retailers will be optimistic that figures will remain high. To best position themselves for success, retailers must focus on crafting the right value proposition to stand out in a crowded promotional landscape. In some cases, this means skipping hefty discounts: 39% of shoppers worldwide are overwhelmed by the sheer volume of sales and promotions, and seven in 10 UK shoppers believe discounts around retail moments are often exaggerated.”
Oliver Vernon-Harcourt, head of retail at Deloitte, remarked on the surprisingly large jump this time but also noted that “consumer confidence remains somewhat fragile, rising wages and lower mortgage rates have improved household finances, but inflationary pressures persist. Previous economic challenges have also left shoppers more nervous, and emerging global economic uncertainties will be the litmus test to both the sector and consumers’ resilience”.
And Jacqueline Windsor, head of retail at PwC UK, remarked that while fashion was down month on month, it rose year on year across the last three months as a whole: “Fashion retailers saw their first quarter of year-on-year growth since August 2023 as shoppers rushed to refresh their spring-summer wardrobes to take advantage of the good weather.”
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