Period covered: May 18Published: June 13, 2018Read time: 1min

Scottish Retail Sales Monitor

Shoppers Drawn Outdoors and into Stores

David Lonsdale, Director, Scottish Retail Consortium:

“Clearly one swallow doesn’t make a summer, but May’s positive figures are a balm for hard-pressed retailers. The figures show consumers shifting their attention to spending time outdoors which when combined with a release of pent up demand saw a broadly based pick up in retail sales over the month.

“As a result total retail sales, adjusted for falling shop prices, recorded their best monthly performance in almost four and a half years.

“Sales of garden furniture, BBQs, and summer-related clothing, footwear and food performed well, as did gaming and TVs driven by demand for new titles and upcoming sporting events. In contrast household appliances and home accessories fared less well.

“It is heartening that a broader range of categories crucial to the overall health of the retail industry pointed in a positive direction last month, however this has to be tempered in light of the continuing pressures on household disposable incomes. Retailers will have to work hard to sustain this growth by constantly improving their offer. Policy makers can assist by channelling their collective energies into ensuring that the retail industry, Scotland’s largest private sector employer, is well placed to thrive and respond positively to changes in shopping habits.”

Craig Cavin, Head of Retail in Scotland, KPMG:

“Following a challenging April, retailers can breathe a sigh of relief after May delivered a much-needed sales uplift in Scotland. Multiple bank holidays, coupled with an extended period of warm weather, contributed to the 2.3 per cent increase – the highest we’ve seen since 2014.

“The sun shining inevitably drove Scots outdoors, with weekend picnics and bank holiday BBQs helping to drive a 4.2 per cent growth in food sales. Similarly, non-food also benefited from the sunshine, with more footfall at the shops resulting in a noticeable increase in summer range sales.

“Nevertheless, non-food sales continue to lag slightly behind the three-month UK equivalent, and Scotland is by no means insulated from the wider challenges facing the retail industry more broadly. Across the country, businesses must focus on transforming both operationally and financially if they are to survive in a changing retail landscape.”