Scottish retailers report positive start to year

Scottish retailers have enjoyed a positive start to the year, according to a regular survey.

The SRC-KPMG retail sales monitor found total sales rose year-on-year by 1.3% in January. Adjusted for deflation, the increase was 1.7%.

Food sales were particularly strong, rising by 2.7%, with Hogmanay and Burns Night celebrations falling within the period.

Meanwhile, total non-food sales rose only marginally on the previous year.

Small electricals, DIY items, mobile phones and furniture performed well, with "a portion" of those sales being driven by discounting.

However, fashion and footwear sales continued to be sluggish, with a combination of wet weather and customers' concerns over sustainability appearing to inhibit purchases.

Burns Night celebrations helped boost food sales last month

KPMG UK head of retail Paul Martin, said: "January is typically a challenging month for Scotland's retail sector, so any rise - however modest - will be a small victory for the industry following an incredibly challenging 2019.

"Greater certainty over Brexit has undoubtedly played its part in encouraging shoppers to spend more, but there are some indications that the return to growth is being driven primarily by aggressive sales and marketing activity by high street retailers, which isn't always good news for bottom lines."

Scottish Retail Consortium (SRC) head of policy Ewan MacDonald-Russell added: "Like early daffodils, this month's sales figures bring forward signs of optimism for Scotland's retailers after a chilly few months.

"Real terms sales growth of 1.7% will bring a little relief to the high street, especially given the more broadly-based pick-up across categories, but it remains to be seen if that uplift will be sustained over the next few months."