April retail sales fell 1.3% month-on-month, below the expected 0.6% decline, signaling weaker consumer demand.
UK retail sales contracted 1.3% in April from March, missing the 0.6% decline forecast by economists. The drop follows a revised 0.6% gain in March, originally reported as 0.7%.
Year-on-year sales were flat, falling short of the 1.3% increase expected and down from a revised 1.4% rise in March. Excluding autos and fuel, sales declined 0.4% month-on-month, slightly worse than the 0.3% drop anticipated, and rose 1.1% year-on-year, below the 1.5% forecast.
The data suggests a slowdown in consumer spending, potentially weighing on economic growth in the second quarter.