Retailers saw a welcome jump in the number of people shopping in April thanks to the Easter holidays and good weather.

The Lanes Shopping Centre in Carlisle saw an 11 per cent rise in footfall when compared to the Easter weekend last year.

In fact the shopping has seen increases in footfall on the May Bank Holiday Saturday, up 2.2 per cent, and last weekend - up 10 per cent when compared to the previous year. The Saturday before Mother's Day also saw a four per cent increase.

Holly Woodhead, marketing manager at The Lanes, said: “It was quite quiet at the beginning of the year. Then we had Mother's Day and Easter quite close together so April was a really big month for us... The good weather helped."

The announcement came as nationally data from the British Retail Consortium and KPMG showed that like-for-like UK retail sales jumped 5.6 per cent last month compared to a 0.9 per cent decline a year earlier, while total sales climbed 6.3 per cent.

Food sales were a main driver of the increase but Paul Martin, UK head of retail at KPMG said that while the figures seem to be good news for supermarkets, they should be taken with a "hefty pinch of salt" given that margins in the competitive grocery sector are still under significant pressure, making profitability an ongoing concern.

He said: "Looking ahead, retailers need to ensure that this month's boost doesn't lull them into a false sense of security. The retail landscape is changing fast and as such, agility and the ability to manage costs will remain critical."

But The Lanes Shopping Centre is more hopeful for the future.

Holly said: "I think we're feeling more confidant than we have been because we have got Primark now which has helped us a lot."

The shopping centre also launched a new loyalty scheme, Lanes Xtra, in April and it already has 3,000 members. Holly explained that they expected the take up to be quite quick in the beginning and will be offering incentives every month to encourage more people to sign up.

Dave Fletcher, development manager at Washington Square in Workington, said sales figures this Easter and April were compatible with last year.

When asked about the uncertain future for retailers, Dave said: "We have national shops here but obviously the retailers are quite happy with things at the present time."