In April 2013, the quantity bought in the retail sector (or sales volumes) increased by 0.5% compared with April 2012. The only source of downward pressure from the four main retail sectors came from the food sector, where compared with April 2012, the quantity of goods bought decreased by 3.8%. This is the lowest since June 2011. The amount spent decreased by 0.2%, which is the largest contraction on record. Looking at the monthly picture, April 2013 compared with March 2013, the quantity bought decreased by 1.3%. Even though there were falls within the non-store retailing and automotive fuel sectors, the monthly ... (full story)