April sales set to show drop
- Published: 12 May 2008 09:47
- Author: Marino Donati
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- Last Updated: 12 May 2008 10:15
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High street fashion sales are expected to show another slide when the British Retail Consortium releases its sales monitor figures for April tomorrow.
Like-for-like sales for last month are expected to show a drop similar to the 1.6% fall in March, with womenswear among the hardest hit sub-sector.
Retailers saw lower footfall in April as shoppers worried about the increasing cost of living, or were put off by inconsistent weather.
March's sales performance was the worst for eight years, according to the BRC.
However, the high street experienced a boost over the April Bank Holiday weekend as the weather picked up and shoppers bought into summer styles. Retailers said that sales made up for the poor performance over the Easter break.
Next reported an 8.9% drop in like-for-like sales for the first quarter last week but said that the recent hot weather had boosted trade.
