Summer sales give Scottish retail a boost

Retail sales in Scotland rose year-on-year by 11.3% in June, according to data from the Scottish Retail Consortium (SRC) and KPMG.

The increase in spending was credited to increased discounting and purchases made in preparation for the summer holidays, making clothing and footwear “the star of the non-food category”.

Non-food sales on the whole increased by 7.5% in June compared to the same month in 2022.

The overall increase in sales was higher than the three-month average of 10.5% and the 12-month average of 8.5%.

Director of the SRC, David Londsdale, said: “Retailers found consumers focused their spending on items in the sales, with there being little desire to spend more for in-season or full priced stock,”

“That continues the trend of shoppers keeping their discretionary spending laser-focused on what they need right now, which was corroborated by a weak month for larger or homeware purchases.”

Paul Martin, UK head of retail at KPMG, added: “Positively, retail sales growth has remained steady at around 9% every month in the first half of this year,”

“However, the growth comes against a background of much higher inflation levels resulting in reduced margins and profitability for operators across the sector.”

Adjusted for inflation, Scottish sales grew by 2.9% year-on-year in June.