'Uninspiring August' for retailers as sales drop
Retailers experienced an ''uninspiring August'', with sales down on the same month the previous year, a report has found.
Grocery sales were down 0.3% last month compared with August 2015, while non-food sales were down 3.7%, according to the KPMG Scottish Retail Sales Monitor.
Overall, sales decreased by 2.2% in August compared with the same month the previous year.
Adjusted for deflation, measured at 2%, sales were down by 0.3% in real terms.
David Lonsdale, director of the Scottish Retail Consortium, said: Retail sales performance in Scotland was uninspiring last month, easing down for a second successive month in real terms once adjusted for falling shop prices.
Over the past three months as a whole the real terms growth in retail sales has nudged up a meagre 0.1%.''
He added: ''Grocery items did better, with the category recording its best three-month average performance in over two years.
''However, non-food categories overall wilted further, with clothing and footwear faring poorly despite a fillip from 'back to school' purchases. Only health and beauty products such as make-up and fragrances provided positive news in non-food.''
Mr Lonsdale said the figures should give politicians ''food for thought'' as they consider tax and spending plans for 2016/17.
David McCorquodale, head of retail at KPMG, said: ''Food sales in Scotland were the star performer in an otherwise disappointing month. Despite the deflationary environment causing further shrinking, the sector saw its best three-month average growth for more than two years. Staycations, coupled with the Rio Olympics, saw families gathering at home to watch Team GB, helping to drive increased volumes.''