Clothing sales in the UK were down in April due to poor weather conditions, according to data from the British Retail Consortium (BRC).

The results come after Britain faced its wettest March in 40 years.

While total retail sales were up by 5.1 per cent last month, inflation meant that volumes were actually down for both food and non-food categories as consumers adjust their spending habits amidst the ongoing cost-of-living crisis.

During the 4-week period, discounting the impact of inflation, food sales jumped by 9.8 per cent, while non-food sales were up 1.2 per cent

Helen Dickinson, chief executive of the BRC said that clothing sales underperformed as the poor weather left customers "thinking twice before decking out their summer wardrobe".

“Retailers hope sales will improve over the warmer summer months, especially as consumer confidence stabilises and inflation begins to ease," she said. "However, they continue to face huge cost pressures from a tight labour market, high energy prices, and other rising input costs, with many retailers reporting lower profits this year as a result."

In March, sales volumes in the UK fell by 0.9 per cent following an increase of 1.1 per cent in February, according to figures from The Office for National Statistics (ONS).

The figures follow one of the ten wettest Marches for England, Wales, and Northern Ireland since records began in 1836.

Retailers told ONS that poor weather conditions throughout the month had contributed to non-food store sales volumes declining by 1.3 per cent after a rise of 2.4 per cent in the previous month, while food store sales were down 0.7 per cent after an increase of 0.6 per cent.

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