Insights on spending in UK towns and cities in April 2025 on behalf of Beauclair

The anticipated boost in sales from Easter in towns and cities during April 2025, did not materialise, with shoppers remaining cautious about spending particularly on Fashion. However, a note of optimism was provided by increases in sales in the key sectors of Food & Drink, General Retail and Grocery for the first month since 2024.

Sales in UK towns and cities during April 2025 were just -0.1% lower than during April 2024.  This suggests that there was some much-needed stability in consumer buying behaviour on high streets during April, particularly as it was the strongest year on year result since November 2024. 

At the same time, however, it was hoped that sales in high streets during April 2025 would have been boosted by Easter, particularly as the month was being compared the same month in 2024 that did not include Easter, which occurred in March 2024.

The fact that sales did not increase from a drop in -10.8% in April 2024 indicates that consumers remained cautious about spending during April, and this was demonstrated by drops in both customers purchasing and the number of transactions (-2.6% and -2.7%).  

On a positive note, despite an average drop in sales of -0.1% across the UK this was not a universal outcome; 45% of towns and cities recorded sales growth during April, and 11% recorded growth in sales of more than +5%.  Furthermore, on a national basis the ATV of customers who did make purchases rose by +2.5%, which was a significant improvement on the drop in ATV of -4.2% during April 2024.

A key cause of the lack of growth in total sales during April, was a -7.1% decline in Fashion sales.  Fashion is one of the five sectors that accounts for 85% of sales in UK towns and cities, and drops occurred only in Fashion and Health & Beauty (-7.1% and -2.2%). Sales rose in the three other key sectors of Food & Drink (+0.4%), General Retail (+1.7%) and Grocery (+1.5%). The increases in sales in these three key sectors were the first since 2024; since November 2024 for Food & Drink and General Retail, and since August 2024 for Grocery.

Whilst the number of customers purchasing Fashion items, and the number Fashion transactions both declined in April, these drops were marginal (-1.3% and -1.5%). The main pressure on Fashion sales appeared to emanate from a larger drop in the ATV of -5.7%, indicating that those who were purchasing were buying lower priced items.  In part the drop in the ATV may have been retailer-led through discounting, however, the fact that shoppers responded and spent more modestly is further evidence of the cautiousness of consumers in terms of their spending. 

Looking forward to May, it is hoped that a month bookended by two bank holidays (including the school half term break), and the easing of interest rates will deliver some good news for sales in towns and cities.

Note: The Beauclair GB Benchmark is based on the median retail performance of 62 nationwide Town & City Centres