Retail sales in Scotland edge down in June
Total retail sales in Scotland edged down 1.1% year-on-year in June as the cooler weather towards the end of the month impacted trade. On a like-for-like basis sales dropped by 2.6%.
The figures released by the Scottish Retail Consortium and KPMG, show that food sales were down 1.4% on a total basis and by 3.3% on a like-for-like basis.
Meanwhile, total non-food sales decreased by 0.8% with like-for-like sales dropping 2% compared to June last year.
Although the figures represent a slight improvement on May, the SRC said they rounded off a weak second quarter.
Never Miss a Retail Update!SRC head of policy and external affairs David Martin said: “Warmer weather at the start of the month helped to get shoppers out, but as the weather cooled down so did sales.
“It is clear that cash conscious consumers have grown comfortable with value, especially on food, and continue to benefit from competitive pricing driven by stiff competition between the major grocery retailers. The continued decline in like-for-like food sales in June is suggestive that last month wasn’t any different.”
Clothing and footwear was the best performing category in the month and is now the only one to report positive total sales growth for two consecutive months.
David McCorquodale, head of retail at KPMG, said: “In non-food, it is encouraging to see the fashion and footwear category performing well and with less discounting than recent years.
“However, the uplift in household and furniture sales seen earlier in the year has regressed with confidence levels receding again, perhaps caused by wage rate inflation not rising in real terms as hoped or through fears around a rise in interest rates. A few key months lie ahead to inject confidence in the economic recovery and translate that through the tills.”
