March gives homewares an unexpected boost

Sales of homewares, including products such as cookware, enjoyed a welcome boost last month.
New figures released by BDO Stoy Hayward show that homewares sales in March were their best for over a year. Categories including cookware, lighting, textiles, furniture and floorcoverings saw like-for-like sales rise by 5.7%.

However, the British Retail Consortium remains cautious. “It would be great if this is an early indication an upturn is on the way,” it said, “but we fear it may turn out to be just a spring blip.”