Food sales growth provided a boost to struggling retail sector

A surge in Scottish food sales has helped counterbalance a drop in other parts of the country's retail sector.

Grocery sales in May grew by 4.5% compared with the same month of last year, which saw a decrease of 0.7%.

It was the fastest food sales increase since July 2013, but it stands in contrast to a 3.8% drop in other Scottish sales in May compared to the same month of 2016.

Scottish Retail Consortium director David Lonsdale said: Grocery sales did well again, with the category recording its fastest growth in almost four years.

However, that growth is partly being driven by rising food price inflation, so grocers will see only modest benefit. Non-food retail sales remained in the doldrums.

For Scotland's retailers, all eyes over the coming months will be on the direction of consumer spending, with family finances set to be buffeted further by overall inflation outstripping the growth in wages, and as recent domestic cost increases such as council tax take hold.''

He added there was more focus on value and affordability, with a corresponding dip in sales of larger or bespoke household items.

Sales of mobile phones did well, as did summer-related women's footwear and sandals.

In May, total sales in Scotland fell by 0.2% compared with the same period in 2016, when they had declined by 0.3%.

The figures are contained in the KPMG Scottish Retail Sales Monitor for May.

Craig Cavin, head of retail in Scotland for KPMG, said: Non-food retailers, particularly fashion outlets, will be glued to the weather forecast as we get into the warmer months and shoppers turn their attention to shorts and sandals.

Last year's Euro Championships boosted summer TV sales, but the lack of a big-ticket football event means non-food retailers will look to annual attractions like Wimbledon to bolster sales.'