Concern as Scotland’s sales hit 21month low

Retailers face a “nervewracking” run-up to the festive season after November sales were the worst for 21 months, according to a new report.

Total sales in Scotland last month decreased 1.6% compared with November 2017, when they fell 0.6%, the SRCKPMG Scottish Retail Sales Monitor showed.

This is the deepest decline since February 2017, excluding Easter distortions, and below both the three-month and 12-month averages of -0.2% and 0.5% respectively, the report said.

Adjusted for inflation, measured at 0.1% by the BRCNielsen Shop Price Index, November sales decreased 1.7%.

Meanwhile, like-for-like sales dropped 2.1% compared to November 2017, when they fell 1.3%.

Scottish Retail Consortium (SRC) director David Lonsdale said: “Retail sales in November recorded their poorest performance for 21 months, with pretty-dire results for items deemed less essential dragging overall retail sales into negative territory.

“Grocery sales grew, but at a less-pronounced pace than witnessed during the summer and early autumn.

“The gulf between food and non-food categories became starker, with the latter sinking markedly – to a 20-year low – despite Black Friday discounting and the proximity to Christmas.

“Food, gaming, mobile phone and associated accessories fared reasonably well. However, toys, beauty products, clothing, footwear and smaller domestic appliances struggled.

“Retailers now face a nervewracking few weeks leading up to the crucial festive season, after a bruising year for many.”

Paul Martin, UK head of retail at KPMG, said: “Black Friday sales were disappointing, with total sales in Scotland falling 2.1% on a like-for-like basis compared to November last year.

“As we’ve come to expect, online shopping took precedence over the high street, with consumers preferring to purchase from their homes.”

He added: “Although these figures don’t take into account the full Black Friday weekend, which includes Cyber Monday, it’s clear to see heavy discounting isn’t as successful as it once was in attracting customers to the high street.”