Warm weather and the Royal Wedding helped retail sales soar 5.2% by value and 2.7% by volume in April compared to the same month last year.

Retail sales by value, excluding fuel, were up 1.8% month-on-month according to the Office for National Statistics.

Food sales soared 6.1% by value year-on-year, the highest rise since June 2009, although volume increased at a slower pace but was still up 1.4%. Non food was up 2.6% in value and 1.9% by volume.

Clothing and footwear sales were up 2.2% by volume and 3.8% in value year-on-year as the sunny weather encouraged people to refresh their wardrobes.

Household goods was the only sector to suffer a year-on-year decline as it slipped 2.7% by value and dropped 3.5% by volume.

Non-store retailing continued to grow, with sales soaring 19.9% by value year-on-year. The ONS calculates that the internet now accounts for 9.3% of all retail sales.

Grant Thornton head of retail Barry Knight said: “The warm weather, late Easter and the Royal Wedding have provided a much-needed upswing in the sales figures. However, that may just be a short-term boost.

“Leaving aside the supermarkets which continue to trade satisfactorily,  we are hearing from retailers on the ground across pretty much every single sub-sector that underlying trade is still weak.  

“In many cases we are even starting to see online sales being affected due to weakening consumer demand.”

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