Retail sales grow but at a slower pace

This marks the fourth consecutive month showing year-on-year growth, and growth is expected to rebound in April.  

The slower growth was put down to a fall in non-specialised shops sales (such as department stores) and slowing sales in the grocery sector. 

Barry Williams, Asda chief merchandising officer for food, and chair of the CBI Distributive Trades Survey Panel, said: “It’s promising to see a run of positive growth rates on the high street, with sales up on a year ago for the fourth month in a row. We’re hopeful that this will continue, but there are still signs that this needs to be a cautious hope.

“The pace of growth has slowed, likely in part down to the later timing of Mother’s Day and Easter this year – conversely, this is the same reason many retailers are looking forward to more robust growth next month.”

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