SRC says latest figures worst seen since 1999

April was a “washout” for retailers in Scotland as cold and wet weather left sales lagging way behind the levels of a year earlier, newfigures show.

Total sales north of the border fell by 4.1% last month and the like-for-like performance – stripping out the impact of shops opening and closing – was worse still, down by 5.2% on a year ago.

The Scottish Retail Consortium(src) said its latest figures were the worst since it started its monthly surveys in 1999.

SRC director Ian Shearer added: “Cold, wet weather across much of Scotland left April a washout for many retailers.

“Beleaguered household budgets and the coldest April since 1998 were part of the cause but last year’s later Easter and extra bank holiday mean the annual c omparison i s with strongly positive growth in April 2011, making the figures worse than they might otherwise be.

“Even so, retailers are hoping a feel-good factor from this summer’s events and warmer temperatures come to their aid soon.”

Scotland’s shops are looking for a boostfromthe Olympic Games and the Queen’s diamond jubilee, with a blitz of goods packaged in the red, white and blue of the union flag plus commemorative merchandise being used to get consumers spending.

But Mr Shearer said the outlook for the sector, which has been hit by a wave of administrations in recent months, remained a worrying picture.

He added: “Times are tough for Scottish customers and retailers.”

David Mccorquodale, head of retail in Scotland for survey sponsor KPMG, said: “April sales were always going to struggle against the very strong sales figures seen in April 2011, which benefited from the late Easter, glorious weather and a royal wedding. Food and drink sales fell 2.6% on a like-for-like basis, while non-food sales fell 7.6%.”

Mccorquodale said clothing and footwear sales suffered the most as shoppers “simply refused to buy summer clothes while the sun refused to shine”.

Overalluktotalandlikefor-like sales last month were down by 1% and 3.3% respectively, meaning a 13th consecutive month where Scotland lagged the country as a whole.

STORMY: The group said cold, wet weather across much of Scotland last month added to shoppers’ woes