(Reuters) - Shoppers opted for umbrellas instead of summer dresses, and preferred gadgets to gardening tools during Britain's wettest April on record. Last month's soggy weather heaped more misery on a recession-hit high street, which is grappling with rising costs and weak demand as disposable incomes are squeezed by rising prices, muted wage growth and government austerity. Retail sales volumes fell 2.3 percent in April from March, the biggest monthly drop in two years, government data published on Wednesday showed. ...

View the original article here