Shoppers are expected to spend a record £7.8 billion in Britain this Easter period as the warm spring weather boosts sales at supermarkets and garden centres.

The British Retail Consortium (BRC) forecasts that sales over Easter will be 4 per cent higher than last year, as expected temperatures of between 15C and 20C attract shoppers to the high street.

Analysts said that doit-yourself stores and garden centres were likely to be the principal beneficiaries of the sales boom.

Easter is the busiest time of year for sales of plants and garden products, with an estimated 10 per cent of garden centres’ sales recorded over the two weeks around the bank holiday.

Jim Hodkinson, the chairman of Wyevale, the garden centre, said: “With the weather forecast as it is, the outlook for garden centres has got to be good news.

“Everyone in the industry is looking for an excellent sales period.”

Richard Hyman at Verdict Research said that a sunny Easter weekend was important for garden centres because the seasonal nature of the business meant that sales missed at this time of year could not be made up later.

He said that supermarkets would also do well as Britons fired up their barbecues.

“A lot of people are going to be saying ‘let’s have some friends over and spend time in the garden’”, he added.

“That’s good for the super-stores, as shoppers will buy nonfood products as well as stock up with party food,” Mr Hyman said.

The BRC estimates that shoppers will spend £3.1 billion on food and drink in the week up to and including Saturday — about £100 million more than last year.

The warm weather will not be good for all retailers, however. Department stores, entertainment retailers and chocolate sellers are expected to have a lacklustre Easter.

Rhys Williams, an analyst at Teather & Greenwood, said: “Who wants to stay in and watch DVDs when it is nice outside? With the market already weak, any sunshine could have a significant negative impact on demand. This will affect ChoicesUK, HMV and Woolworths.”

He said that Thorntons and Woolworths might suffer if demand for chocolate was lower than anticipated.

About 10 per cent of the UK’s chocolate sales occur over Easter, and this year that figure is expected to reach £426 million.

However, Mr Hyman said that he did not expect the weather to have a significant impact on chocolate sales.

“A lot of people will have bought their eggs already and I don’t think a significant number will say to their kids that they haven’t got them an egg because of the sunny weather.”

Fashion chains and low-price clothing stores, such as Matalan, Peacocks and New Look, are most likely to benefit as the sunshine spurs fashionistas, particularly women, to buy the new Spring collections.

But unseasonably warm weather could spell bad news for high street stores if consumers choose to head for the beach, park or garden rather than the shops.

Conversely, it was last year’s unusually chilly weather over Easter which turned away shoppers from the high street, with sales for that period falling by 3.3 per cent.

Tills ring out

Winners
Supermarkets Tesco, Asda, J Sainsbury, Wm Morrison and Waitrose will benefit from strong sales of food, drink and accessories for barbecues

DIY and garden centres Kingfisher, Dobbies, Travis Perkins (owner of Wickes), Wyevale and Focus will benefit from good sales of plants, garden furniture, mowers and DIY goods

Fashion Listed retailers such as M&S, Next, French Connection and Ted Baker may benefit but chains such as New Look, H&M, Zara, Oasis and Peacocks are likely to do best

Losers
Entertainment HMV, WH Smith and Woolworths not likely to benefit because shoppers will be more interested in outdoor pursuits

Chocolate Thorntons will have to hope an increase in demand for ice-cream will offset potential disappointing chocolate sales, which could also hit Woolworths

Furniture Retail parks are less popular in warm weather so stores such as ScS and Land of Leather could be affected. Carpetright might also suffer as shoppers focus on outdoor improvements

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