Retail industry boosted by strong spring and Easter sales

By Richard Siddle

Published: 24 April, 2014

Overall retail sales continue to grow strongly and will pick up further in May, according to the CBI's latest monthly Distributive Trades Survey.

The CBI survey, which covers 131 businesses involved in retailing, including sectors such as grocery, food and drink, DIY and hardware, mirrors wider financial trends that shows the economy is moving back in to growth.

Retail sales have now increased year-on-year for the fifth consecutive month. Sales volumes are expected to grow again next month, with confidence within the retail sector at its highest level since December 2010.

Internet retail sales continue to storm ahead with retail sales volumes up 63%, the fastest pace since November 2012 (+64%).

Barry Williams, chair of the CBI Distributive Trades Survey Panel and Asda's chief merchandising officer for Food, said: "The high street has a spring in its step - retailers performed well in April and enjoyed a strong rise in sales compared with this time last year. It's a welcome rebound from March, largely down to the later timing of Mother's Day and Easter.

"This latest survey echoes the current drumbeat of positive economic news. The trick now is for this to become a consistent theme, and deliver much needed support to household spending and economic growth in the months ahead."

The key findings in the survey include:

Retailers

· 42% said sales volumes were up on a year ago, 12% said they were down, giving a balance of +30%. This is a significant improvement on the sales growth seen in March (+13%)

· Retailers expect sales volumes to grow again in May (+43%), with 48% expecting them to rise and 5% to fall. This is the highest expected growth since December 2010 (+45%)

Grocery retailer enjoyed sales growth up 60% on last year and are growing at a much faster pace than last month (+20%).

27% of retailers said total retail sales volumes were above average for the time of year, while 9% said they were below average, giving a balance of +18%, the highest since December 2010 (+18%)

34% of retailers placed more orders with suppliers than they did a year ago and 18% placed fewer, giving a balance of +15%, which was broadly in line with expectations (+12%).

Wholesalers

· Forty per cent of wholesalers reported sales volumes to be up on last year and 39% said they were down, giving a rounded balance of up 2%. Food and drink wholesalers said they were 54% on last year.

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