The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
Festive sales lift follows ‘tepid’ year for retailers
Increased sales helped by spending on voice-activated gadgets
Spending on voice-activated gadgets, clothing and food helped Scottish retailers record a robust end of the year, according to figures published today.
In the five weeks from November 26 to December 30, Scottish sales rose by 0.3% on a like-for-like basis compared to December 2016 according to the Scottish Retail Consortium-KPMG Scottish retail sales monitor.
Total food sales in December rose 4.4% against the same month last year, bringing 12-month average growth to 3.6%, the highest since September 2011.
Non-food sales fell 2.2% compared to December 2016, an improvement over the three-month and 12-month average declines of 3.8% and 3.3% respectively.
David Lonsdale, director of the Scottish Retail Consortium, said: “These positive results for December provided a final flourish to what was otherwise a pretty tepid 2017 for Scottish retailers.
“Adjusted for falling shop prices, total retail sales increased by a commendable 1.4%.
“Last-minute festive purchases and more discounting than in previous years meant the final month of the year ended on an optimistic note for retailers, even with Black Friday in November pulling sales forward from the early part of last month.”
Mr Lonsdale said among the items driving sales were clothing, footwear and voice-activated gadgets.
“The polarisation between the performances of grocery and non-food retail sales continued, although it was less pronounced than of late,” he said.
“Clothing and footwear were the stand-out performers, driven by online promotions, especially of branded items, trainers and children’s shoes.
“Gaming and voice-activated gadgets did well, whilst toys, furniture and household appliances flagged,” he said.
“Grocery sales maintained their strong run of late, helped by customers stocking up for Christmas and with evidence of trading up to more premium items.”
Craig Cavin, KPMG’s head of retail in Scotland, said inflation continued to play a significant role in the sales increase.
The figures would be welcomed by grocers, he said.
“Clearly Storm Caroline and heavy snow did not hamper the festive grocery shop, as food sales spending rose by 4.4% across Scotland.
“In particular, whisky sales enjoyed a festive uplift, with retailers sourcing more Hogmanay food and drink from Scottish suppliers this year.”