Department stores keep gloomy retail sector alive

Retail sales unexpectedly grew last month, official figures revealed today, as department stores bucked the gloomy trend on the high street.

Retail sales volumes grew by 0.2% month-on-month in March, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said, against City expectations of a 0.5% decline.

Department stores increased 1.4% month-on-month, the ONS said, while the launch of Apple's iPad 2 and the Nintendo 3DS helped lift sales at computer and telecoms stores.

While food stores reported a 0.7% month-on-month increase in sales volumes, they saw a 0.1% annual decline, as rising food prices are forcing consumers to be more cautious with their spending than they were a year ago.

Economists had expected sales volumes to decline in March following a raft of disappointing company updates and dismal surveys from the likes of the British Retail Consortium (BRC).