British retail sales rose 1.2 per cent in April, significantly overshooting analysts’ expectations as warm weather encouraged consumers to spend more. Economists polled by Reuters had expected the volume of goods sold to rise 0.2 per cent in the month, after a revised increase of 0.1 per cent in March.

UK retail sales soared in April, continuing a surprisingly strong start to the year in a further sign that consumers are proving resilient in the face of rising bills and Donald Trump’s global trade war.

Retail sales in the UK increased 5% in April over the same month in the previous year.  Retail sales jumped 1.2% M/M in April 2025, easily beating forecasts of a 0.2% rise and accelerating from a downwardly revised 0.