Consumer confidence recovery continues
Consumer confidence continues to show recovery after a monthly survey by GfK revealed a six point improvement to minus 30 in April.
As energy bills begin to fall, the forecast for personal finances over the next 12 months increased eight points to -13, which is 13 points higher than this time last year.
The major purchase index is up five points to -28 after a rise of four points to the highest level in over a year.
Client strategy director Joe Staton said improvements were seen across the board: “This is the third month in a row that confidence overall has improved; can we look forward to this momentum building for the year ahead?”
Retail sales fall in March as bad weather hits the high street
Bad weather hit the retail sector hard in March, as the ONS today revealed sales fell by 0.9%.
The decline was more than the expected 0.5% dip.
Clothing sales were hit especially hard, falling by 3.2%. However, the less weather-dependent food sales were also down, which retailers said was likely due to the continuing cost-of-living crisis.
Bad weather hit the retail sector hard in March, as the ONS today revealed sales fell by 0.9%.
/ PA WireONS director of economic statistics Darren Morgan noted that things looked better over the longer term, as strong sales in January and February mean that for the year retail sales are still up.
“Retail fell sharply in March as poor weather impacted on sales across almost all sectors,” Morgan said. “However, the broader trend is less subdued, as a strong performance from retailers in January and February means the three-month picture shows positive growth for the first time since August 2021.”
