Easter sales increase less than thought

The hop in predicted sales over Easter has come up short as retailers find themselves under continued pressure.

Figures from market analysts Nielsen found shopper spending at UK supermarkets rose marginally in March, but much less than expected by analysts.

With Easter falling close to pay day, and marginal increases in wages compared to last year, retail specialists Springboard envisaged a rise in footfall of 4.7 per cent.

However, according to Nielsen, that manifested as a slim rise of 0.7 per cent in sales values for the four-weeks ending March 28, while volumes increased just 1.5 per cent.

Nielsen UK’s head of retailer insight, Mike Watkins, said: “The momentum that has built ahead of the early Easter is certainly welcome news, but it masks the reality that the current trading environment is challenging for the supermarkets with people spending less on groceries than they used to.”

It was a similar story among the big four supermarkets, who each saw a decline in year-on-year sales during the 12 weeks to March 28.

Asda sales declined 1.7 per cent, while Tesco was down 1.1 per cent.

The poor figures appear to contradict claims by economic polling company GfK that consumer confidence is at a 12-year high.

Discounters, however, continued their strong form, with the meteoric Aldi enjoying a 17.9 per cent year-on-year increase in sale, while Lidl’s increased 10.8 per cent.

Earlier this week, it emerged that Aldi had overtaken Waitrose to become the UK’s sixth biggest supermarket, according to Kantar Worldpanel.