Retail sales get ‘final flourish’ at Christmas

The festive period has given a “final flourish” for Scotland’s retail sector after a tough year.

Total sales in December increased by 0.8 per cent compared with the same period in 2016 when they grew by 0.7 per cent.

This bucks the trend over the three month and 12-month averages of 0.1 per cent and 0.3 per cent falls 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.

“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.”

Scottish customers also opted to fork out more on food this festive period, while sales for other items dropped.

Total food sales in December increased 4.4 per cent versus December 2016.

This was in contrast to other items, which fell by 2.2 per cent compared with the corresponding month in the previous year.

Mr Lonsdale said clothing and footwear were standout performers.