The weather, which many retailers have blamed over the past year for poor trade, drove sales across the board, but particularly helped DIY and fashion retailers.
The bank holiday is a key time in the DIY calendar for sales of outdoor ranges.
Focus chief executive Bill Grimsey said “the bank holiday was phenomenal”, adding that strong sales started on Thursday and continued into this week.
He said that sales of garden maintenance and outdoor living were strong. “It has been the best all year and as long as we get a normal summer, we think this trend will continue,” he said.
Another DIY source said: “People would have been much happier going into their Monday-morning trading meetings this week.”
Supermarket Asda reported a boost in categories such as barbecues and summer George lines.
A spokesman said: “We had a special on an under-£8 tent which nearly sold out and the weekend compared very favourably to the previous year.”
Fashion retailers, many of which have suffered some of the worst trading periods over the past few months, also fared well.
Reiss founder David Reiss said: “This weekend saw 100 per cent difference, the sun brought people out. People woke up to the sunshine and went shopping, the figures looked good. There has been no real reason for people to buy until now.”
QS vice-chairman and European chief executive Findlay Caldwell said: “This weekend was the first time we have done positive like-for-likes for a month. It is better even into this week. The sun has come at the right time to clear summer stock.”
Footfall figures were strong in London, with the New West End Company reporting figures up 15.4 per cent on the Saturday.
At Bluewater in Kent, footfall was up 5.3 per cent last week, including the bank holiday, on the same period last year.
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