​Retail Scottish sales surprise with bounce back in February

By

Barbara Santamaria

Published
Mar 16, 2016

Total Scottish sales decreased by only 0.7% in February 2016, compared to a 1.4% decline recorded in February last year. According to the Scottish Retail Consortium, last month saw indeed the best store performance of the past year excluding Christmas and Easter.

Retail sales decreased by 1.2% on a like-for-like basis, representing an improvement on February 2015, when they decreased by 2.3%.

The Director of the Scottish Retail Consortium, David Lonsdale, said: “Retail sales in Scotland saw a welcome return to growth last month, once adjusted for falling shop prices, which was a pleasant contrast to the dire performance witnessed in January and which most retailers were glad to see the back of.”

In February 2016, the Food sector saw a decline of 1.1% on February 2015, when it had decreased 2.6%, while Non-food sales grew by 1.8% lifted by the Home category and Valentine’s and Mother’s Day shopping.

The worst performing sector was fashion, which saw a decline of an online adjusted basis.