Retail sales volumes recovered from April's decline of 2.4% the biggest amount in more than two years, as rainy weather prevented shoppers from snapping up summer clothing, the Office for National Statistics said.
April's data was revised lower from an initial reading of minus 2.3%, while analysts had forecast a rise of 0.8 percent in May according to a survey by Dow Jones Newswires.
Sales meanwhile grew by 2.4% in May compared with 12 months earlier, the statistics office added in a statement.
"Retail sales saw a decent rebound of 1.4% in May from April's sharp dip, as they were clearly helped by better weather lifting sales of summer clothing and outdoor goods," said Howard Archer, chief UK economist at IHS Global Insight research group.
"It also may well have been the case that sales were given a boost in late-May by people gearing up to celebrate the Queen's diamond jubilee."
Britons stocked up on food and drink for parties staged earlier this month to mark the monarch's 60th year on the throne, handing a boost to retailers struggling to grow amid a recession.
Source: AFP
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