Retail sales last month recorded their worst fall in 10 years, new figures show.
Data from the British Retail Consortium (BRC) shows a 4.7% drop on like-for-like sales in April, marking the largest year-on-year decline since records began in 1995.
On a total basis, retail sales fell 1.3%. The three-month trend rate of growth for like-for-like sales fell to -0.9% from 0.7% in March and dropped to 2.6% from 4.0% for total sales.
"April was another very tough month for retailers, and whilst the drop is partly exaggerated by the comparison with April 2004, when Easter fell, the like-for-like figure is the worst on record," said Kevin Hawkins, director general of the BRC.
"A slowing housing market, pre-election economic uncertainty and the continuing threat of interest rate rises dominated consumer confidence in April," he added. "With figures like these, it is crucial that the Bank of England consider a gradual reduction in interest rates."
The Bank of England yesterday decided to keep interest rates on hold for the ninth straight month at 4.75%.
While trade worsened across the board, discretionary purchases and non-essentials were hardest hit. A brief spurt of warmer days gave stores a temporary respite, Hawkins said, but it was short-lived and not enough to prevent declines for the whole month.
Sales of big-ticket items, in particular, were dented by consumer caution and the slowing housing market.
"This performance is fairly consistent across the sectors with little worthy of note other than in food, which is less impacted by any downturn, and in women's clothing, where some star performers continue to convince their customers to spend," said Helen Dickinson, head of retail at KPMG.
