The Press and Journal (Inverness, Highlands, and Islands)
Shoppers shut wallets tight
StoreshopingforBlackFridayresurgence
Scottish retailers experienced “hard times on the high street” in October, with the gap between grocery and non-food sales growing, a new report says.
Sales decreased by 1% on a like-for-like basis, which excludes new store openings, compared with the same month last year.
Total sales were down by 0.8% compared with October 2016, according to the Scottish Retail Consortium (SRC)-KPMG Scottish retail sales monitor.
Adjusted for deflation, measured at 0.1%, overall October sales declined by 0.6%.
Food sales were up 4.9% year-on-year but sales of other goods declined 5.2%, the lowest since January 2012.
Ewan MacDonaldRussell, head of policy and external affairs, SRC, said: “Halloween wasn’t enough to stave off hard times on the high street for non-food retailers who suffered the most challenging month’s performance in almost five years.
“Even continued strong food sales weren’t enough to rescue October’s figures, with overall Scottish retail sales dipping in real terms by 0.6%.
“The gap between grocery and non-food sales continues to grow. Food sales are still relatively strong, although still being partially driven by inflation.”
He added: “November will be a crucial month for those high street retailers, with promotions around Black Friday likely to be integral to sales success for some in the crucial Christmas shopping period.”
Craig Cavin, head of retail in Scotland for KPMG, said: “Unseasonably mild weather, coupled with Black Friday looming and limited promotional activity in October, meant retailers failed to persuade customers to open their wallets.
“With colder weather setting in and the usual Christmas boom fast-approaching, autumn and winter ranges will have greater appeal.
“Big ticket electrical launches timed for Christmas will also play a role in recovering non-food losses.”
Meanwhile, retail experts have predicted UK shoppers will spend more than £10billion in this year’s Black Friday bonanza.
Higher prices and increased retailer participation are expected to drive the shopping spree, with total sales over the period – defined as Monday, November 20 to Monday November 27 – forecast to rise by 3.8% year-on-year.
Black Friday spending will account for more than 10% of all shopping in the final quarter of 2017, boosting shops which have faced waning demand in an uncertain economic climate this autumn, according to market researcher GlobalData.
Eleanor Parr, retail analyst, GlobalData, said: “Electrical sales are expected to continue to dominate Black Friday promotions, although year- on- year growth is forecast to slow to 3% due to inflation in the market discouraging spend.”
When Black Friday was first exported from the US to the UK it promised big discounts for one day only.
But retailers around Britain have since taken the opportunity to extend the event to a week in order to both encourage more consumers to take part and relieve operational pressures.
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