Computer games buffer falling retail sales
May 22, 2008
Retail sales showed unexpected resilience in April. This is because of a rush to buy computer games, according to official statistics.
The Office for National Statistics (ONS ) said retail sales fell for the second month, down 0.2% from March, this brings the annual rate of increase down to 4.2% from an upwardly revised 4.7% in March.
Analysts has expected monthly fall of 0.5%.
“The ONS singles out of the release of Grand Theft Auto IV and the Wii-Fit computer games “for better than expected showing, said James Knightley of ING.
Aprils fall marked the first consecutive monthly decrease in sales since January 2006 and the Bank of England has said it expects consumer spending to sharply slow down this year.
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