Sunny weather boosted British retail sales in April and households grew cheerier this month, according to figures published on Friday that suggested consumers might be a bright spot in an otherwise drab outlook for the economy.

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.

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.