You have to go back to 2015 to find four months in a row with increased retail trade in the United Kingdom, if you disregard the pandemic years.
Despite customs shock and price hike
April was the sunniest month ever recorded in the United Kingdom. It led to increased demand in most sectors and consumption of food and alcohol increased, states ONS statistician Hannah Finselbach.
In March, the increase was 0.4 percent compared to the previous month, and analysts had expected an increase of 0.3 percent in April, according to the news agency Bloomberg.
The unexpectedly large retail trade boost came despite the Trump administration's customs shock at the beginning of April and significant price increases for water, train travel, and local taxes.
At the same time, a report from GFK shows that consumer confidence in the United Kingdom recovered somewhat in May after the decline in April. British households have in May become slightly more positive about their finances and the economy at large, and the desire to purchase durable goods – such as cars and furniture – has increased.
"Will not hold out"
But economists are raising a warning finger.
This boost will not hold out. Even if consumer confidence has strengthened somewhat in May, we believe that retail trade will brake in during the coming months, says Alex Kerr at the analysis firm Capital Economics.
