Scottish retail sales suffer in July
Scottish retailers had another disappointing month in July as low consumer confidence and high rainfall dampened hopes of a summer revival on the high street.
Figures released by the Scottish Retail Consortium and KPMG revealed that total sales fell by 0.7% in the month while like-for-like sales decreased by 2.2%.
Food sales were virtually flat while non-food sales declined by 1.5% despite an improved performance from clothing and footwear.
The figures also showed that Scotland did not see any marked increase in spending at the start of the Olympics.
Never Miss a Retail Update!Richard Lim, economist with the SRC, commented: “July was not a good month. There’s no sign of any pre-Olympic boost for Scottish retail in these figures and cutting back is becoming more widespread.
“Even if people bought party food ahead of the Games, they put fewer other things in their trolleys, leaving food spending virtually the same in cash terms as a year ago.”
David McCorquodale, head of retail in Scotland for consultants KPMG, said: “The lack of any feel-good factor encouraging consumers into the shops has provided a set of figures much more indicative of the true underlying trend.
“These show weakness in sentiment as disposable incomes remain squeezed, despite the fall in headline inflation. It’s a real challenge for retailers to grow sales and many are only achieving this at the expense of margins.”
