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Businesses record 'relatively strong' March sales

Published On 12 April 2007 at 08:50:12

Sun and the date on which Easter fell helped Britain's businesses - including many SMEs - post strong sales figures in March, according to new research.

Data published by the British Retail Consortium (BRC) and KPMG show that UK retail sales increased 3.9 per cent in March when compared to figures from a year ago.

Similarly, the three-month trend rate of growth increased in the month to 3.5 per cent, after it dipped to three per cent in February.

The BRC said that the strong sales growth for SMEs was partly caused by the fact that figures for March 2006 were particularly weak - falling 1.4 per cent compared to the month in 2005.

"While these results are obviously welcome, they must be set against the poor sales performance we reported a year ago. Discounting and competition generally show no signs of easing off and many consumers are increasingly wary of making big purchases," said Kevin Hawkins, the director general of the BRC.

Helen Dickinson, head of retail at KPMG, added that, "with Easter falling in April, the March results do not represent a high volume month in the context of the year as a whole".

However, she added: "They do highlight a continued level of resilience in the market."

 

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