Supermarkets show recovery in sales

14 Apr 2015

Like-for-like retail sales have shown a strong recovery over the past year, according to retail experts.

The British Retail Consortium (BRC) and KPMG have released figures showing a 3.2% rise in sales for March compared to the same month in 2014. Food sales in particular show their largest increase since July 2013.

But Head of Retail at KPMG, David McCorquodale, warned: ‘Price deflation continues to dog the sector, and while supermarkets may be selling more, they are pedalling hard to stand still. There is a long way to go before like-for-like food sales are back in positive territory.’

Helen Dickinson, Director-General of the BRC, said: ‘Retailers can also be satisfied with the consumer response to their Mother’s Day and Easter offerings, but it is important to note that April figures will be impacted by the absence of Easter this year.’

The report shows positive news for high street shops, with growth showing greater improvement in physical stores rather than online retailers, for the first time since August 2014.