Scottish Retail Sales Monitor
Scottish Retailers Still Waiting for Return to Pre-pandemic Trading
Ewan MacDonald-Russell, Head of Policy & External Affairs, Scottish Retail Consortium:
July saw retail sales improve on 2020’s rather desperate performance which came in the immediate aftermath of the first lockdown, but remain below pre-pandemic trading. Indeed, the 4.4 percent fall compared to 2019 was disappointing after two months when there seemed to be a path back to growth. It seems Scottish retailers have a longer wait in store.
Food sales continue to perform well, driven last month by strong sales of drinks and outdoor food as Scots took advantage of the sunshine. Non-food sales remain mixed, there was good news for fashion retailers as shoppers looked to update wardrobes for the weather, but furniture and homeware sales dipped compared to the very strong sales last year.
“Despite last month’s sunshine there must be worry there are storm clouds ahead for the Scottish retail industry. Footfall to retail destinations, high street vacancies, and now sales have been negative for some time. With parts of the supply chains under pressure from rising commodity and haulage costs the stresses on operational models are only increasing. If there isn’t an August bump in retail sales from the relaxation of restrictions it may be a long winter for Scottish shops.”
Paul Martin, Partner, UK Head of Retail, KPMG:
While social distancing measures persisted throughout July, the picture improved again for Scottish retailers as rising footfall, enabled or encouraged by the move to level 0 restrictions, facilitated a sizeable rise in total sales. However if we compare current levels to 2019, sales do still remain low – a clear indicator of the impact the pandemic continues to have on retailing operations.
Despite the difference against pre-pandemic levels, retail performance in July was encouraging, especially the steep rise in non-food sales. Hopefully we’ll see this positive momentum continue throughout the summer as the majority of remaining restrictions are eased, retailers resume normal trading and consumers feel confident to spend once again.
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