Scottish retailers see ‘final flourish’ to tough year

The festive period gave a “final flourish'' for retail sales in Scotland after a tough year, according to new figures.

Total sales in December increased by 0.8% compared with the same period in 2016, when they had grew by 0.7%.

This bucks the trend over the three-month and 12-month averages of -0.1% and -0.3% respectively.

David Lonsdale, director of the Scottish Retail Consortium, said: “These positive results for December provided a final flourish to what was otherwise a pretty tepid 2017 for Scottish retailers.

“Last minute festive purchases and more discounting than in previous years meant the final month of the year ended on an optimistic note for retailers, even with Black Friday in November pulling sales forward from the early part of last month.

“The spotlight now turns to the year ahead and whether this welcome uptick in December heralds the start of a more sustained recovery in the growth of total retail sales or a further nail-biting period ahead for Scotland's shopkeepers.''

Scottish customers also opted to fork out more on food this festive period, while sales for other items dropped.

Total food sales in December increased 4.4% versus December 2016, when they had grew by 2.5%.

This is in contrast to other items, which fell by 2.2% compared with the same month in the previous year, when they had decreased by 0.7%.

Adjusted for the estimated effect of online sales, total non-food sales dropped by 0.4% versus December 2016, when they had increased by 2.0%.

Mr Lonsdale added: “The polarisation between the performances of grocery and non-food retail sales continued, although it was less pronounced than of late.

“Clothing and footwear were the stand out performers, driven by online promotions, especially of branded items, trainers and children's shoes.

“Grocery sales maintained their strong run of late, helped by customers stocking up for Christmas and with evidence of trading up to more premium items.'