Cold, wet weather and an early Easter hit retail sales in April, according to the British Retail Consortium (BRC).

The trade association said total retail sales for the UK fell by 4% for the four weeks from March 31 to April 28, compared to a rise of 5.1% for last April, as reported by Retail Gazette.

But the average growth for March and April together was 0.2%.

Food sales rose 4.4% for the three months to April. Non-food sales were down 2.8% for the three-month period.

The BRC said people delayed making spring purchases due to the disappointing weather. Clothing, footwear, sportswear, garden furniture and DIY products were particularly affected, despite retailers offering discounts.

There was a small rise in sales of tech products, as consumers updated tech bought during the pandemic.

Retail footfall for the month was down 7.2%.