According to the British Retail Consortium (BRC) and KPMG sales monitor, the U.K. retail sales decreased by an annual rate of 0.9% on a like-for-like basis in April, after a 0.7% fall in March.

On a total basis, retail sales were flat year-on-year in April.

"April saw the second month of flat sales for UK retailers with positive food sales offset by record declines in fashion. As a result, the 12-month average growth for non-food sales slowed to 2.5 per cent while for food sales it nudged back into positive territory at 0.1 per cent," BRC Chief Executive, Helen Dickinson, said.