Scottish retail sales pick up in October
Retailers in Scotland saw a pick-up in sales in October with food sales and non-food revenues both increasing.
Figures released by the Scottish Retail Consortium and KPMG show that total sales rose by 2.1% year-on-year in October as food sales climbed by 3% and non-food sales grew by 1.3%. However, the total growth remained below the three-month average of 2.4%.
On like-for-like basis sales edged down 0.5%, slowing from the 0.8% fall in September.
The SRC said that food sales benefited from shoppers buying more wintry fare as the nights start to draw in. In contrast, non-food sales faltered, mainly due to subdued demand for warmer clothing and footwear until more autumnal conditions set in later in the month.
SRC director Fiona Moriarty said: “These figures show that there’s all to play for as Christmas approaches. It’s reassuring to see a partial pick-up in growth after a disappointing slowdown in the previous month, but it’s clear that many households are still feeling the squeeze and keen to keep some money aside for seasonal spending closer to December.
“Overall this is an acceptable result which tallies with the relatively stable consumer confidence levels of the last few months. Retailers will be hoping that this very tentative boost gains some momentum as many of us start thinking about making some headway on our Christmas lists.”
