In the UK we are obsessed with the weather, and rightly so: it impacts mood, movements and our spending habits. According to the Met Office, the UK experienced 55% more rainfall than average in April, making it the sixth wettest on record.

Perhaps no surprise then to see that retail sales declined 4% year on year last month, according to the BRC-KPMG Retail Sales Monitor. Even with Easter falling in March this year, that’s a disappointing drop. In the three months to April food sales were up just 4.4% and non-food sales down 2.8%.