Scottish retail sales stagnate in June
The unseasonably wet weather in June has been blamed for stagnation in Scottish retail sales as figures released by the Scottish Retail Consortium and KPMG show zero growth in like-for-like sales in the month.
While total sales in June were 1.2% up on June 2011, like-for-like sales did not grow at all but were still better than June last year when they fell by 1.8%.
Food sales rose above their year-earlier level on a like-for-like basis, but SRC said that once food inflation was taken in to consideration volumes are likely to have fallen. Clothing and footwear sales suffered from the mild and wet weather in the month and big-ticket purchases continued to struggle amid continued consumer caution.
The June figures marked the fifteenth month in a row that UK sales growth exceeded that in Scotland, said the SRC.
Never Miss a Retail Update!Richard Lim, an economist with SRC, said: “June’s prolonged wet weather has caused Scottish retail to stagnate. Consumers remain cautious about their personal finances and lower temperatures have cooled demand for summer fashions and outdoor leisure goods. With shops full of seasonal stock, retailers are hoping a possible Indian summer delivers some salvation.
“There was a boost in the run up to the Jubilee celebrations as shoppers bought in party foods for the long weekend but it wasn’t on the same scale as seen in our UK-wide statistics.
“Retailers are discounting aggressively to encourage shoppers through their doors and to maintain the many thousands of jobs which depend upon the sector.
“Falling inflation offers some hope with signs that the squeeze on real disposable incomes are easing, but a fundamental revival in consumer spending may be some way off yet.”
David McCorquodale, KPMG’s head of retail in Scotland, added: “On first appraisal, June appears to have been a better month for Scotland’s retailers, with total sales increasing slightly by 1.2 per cent on the corresponding period in 2011.
“However, this statistic does not tell the whole story for retailers as much of that rise comes from increased food sale values which continue to be driven by inflation rather than volumes.”
