UK NEWS
‘GRIM’ SALES RATE SPARKS FEARS FOR SCOTTISH ECONOMY
By Scottish Political Reporter
FRESH fears have been raised for Scotland’s economic recovery after the High Street suffered its worst February in at least 11 years.
Total retail sales rose by just 1.9 per cent, according to the Scottish Retail Consortium and KPMG.
The poor performance resulted in part from the big freeze, which saw heavy snowfall and treacherous conditions keep shoppers indoors.
But retailers also blamed the “grim results” on falling confidence over job security and fears of a hung parliament.
The latest Scottish Retail Sales Monitor was the weakest February data since 1999, when the survey began.
The new figures revealed that like-for-like sales last month were down 1.1 per cent from the previous year.
Like-for-like non-food sales were down 2.6 per cent in the same period. For food sales, the like-for-like figures showed an increase of 0.5 per cent compared to 12 months ago but sales growth – which had slowed sharply in January – fell further last month.
Scottish Tory finance spokesman Derek Brownlee said: “This is worrying evidence of the lingering impact of Labour’s recession.
“Many thousands of Scots rely on retail for employment. Consumers will not start spending again if they are worried about the future.”
Richard Dodd, of the Scottish Retail Consortium, said February had been a month for buying “needs not wants”.
He added: “Bad weather and customer caution have delivered grim results.
“This is the worst February performance since the survey began 11 years ago.”
David McCorquodale, head of retail in Scotland for KPMG, said like-for-like sales across the UK had seen “positive growth” in February.
He said the fall north of the Border was “perhaps the first sign of a noticeable and concerning trend in the Scottish market place”.
