British retail sales increased this month after consistently falling for the past 10 months, according to industry figures that echoed official data published last week.
Despite the increase, industry figures suggest that stores expect sales volumes to slip again in April.
The Confederation of British Industry’s (CBI) monthly retail sales balance – a gauge of sales over the year to March – rose from -7 in February to +2 in March.
Yet retailers expected the decline in sales to resume in April at -25.
Martin Sartorius, CBI principal economist said about the results, “The stabilisation of retail sales in March should give some hope that the sector’s downturn is bottoming out.
“The earlier timing of Easter will likely mean weaker year-on-year sales in April, but easing inflation should support retail spending going forward.”
Last week, official data showed that British retail sales held steady in February, in spite of forecasts suggesting a fall.
Other surveys have indicated stabilisation in the economy, such as GfK’s consumer confidence index indicating increased optimism in households as consumer confidence remained steady.
Inflation has slowed, reaching 3.4% in February, and interest rates are expected to fall from their 16-year high of 5.25% sometime this year.
The CBI survey, which is not seasonally adjusted, showed that retailers cut orders from suppliers this month.
The retailers are expected to do the same in April.
The CBI survey was based on responses from 72 retailers in the UK.
Read More: UK Inflation Falls More Than Expected In February
