Drop in spring retail sales figures

EMBARGOED TO 0001 TUESDAY MAY 7 File photo dated 28/04/24 of a person walking through rainwater in central London. Retail sales dropped 4% in April versus the previous year, dampened by a spell of wet weather and an early Easter bank holiday. The year-on-year drop is set against a growth of 5.1% in April 2023, but was artificially worsened by the earlier timing of Easter, which previously pushed March sales unusually high, according to the British Retail Consortium (BRC)-KPMG Retail Sales Monitor. Issue date: Tuesday May 7, 2024.