British retail sales have fallen in the last month, it has been revealed, but not as much as they would have done were it not for the popularity of computer games.
Figures released by the Office for National Statistics show retail volumes fell by 0.2 per cent in the month of April following a similar fall in March.
Although this is the first time that volumes have fallen for two months in a row since January 2006, the decline in April is not as drastic as analysts had predicted.
This is largely due to strong sales of Grand Theft Auto 4 and Wii Fit, which helped to offset poor home improvement and food sales.
"Did video games save the day?" Matthew Sharratt, a Bank of America economist, asked in a Reuters interview.
"Spending on the high street is slowing but continues to show a surprising degree of resilience."
Grand Theft Auto 4 had sold more than 600,000 copies by the end of April, while Wii Fit sold 240,000 copies in the first two days after its release.
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