Warm March gives sales boost to Scottish retailers

Like-for-like sales were 0.9 per cent higher than a year earlier, when they had fallen 3.9 per cent, according to the Scottish Retail Consortium (SRC).

Demand for summer products including barbecue food and ice-cream – as well as summer clothes and toiletries such as sun cream – helped boost the sales performance in the month, which was the warmest March on record since 1938.

But retail experts warned that Scotland was lagging behind the rest of the UK and said the data did not signal a return to strong retailing north of the Border.

“Scotland’s record-breaking March temperatures helped bring a badly needed lift for the retail sector,” said Ian Shearer, director of the SRC.

“These are the first positive sales figures since Christmas and the best results overall for nearly a year. The unusually early sunshine encouraged people to start buying summer clothes and shoes, outdoor furniture and gardening supplies.”

But he warned that the comparative figures were with a period of cold and wet weather in March a year earlier – and added that the sales increase was still a real-terms fall once inflation is factored in.

CPI inflation rose for the first time in six months yesterday, to 3.5 per cent from 3.4 per cent, coming as an unwelcome blow to consumers.

Mr Shearer said: “Scotland’s total sales grew at half the rate of the UK as a whole and show Scottish retailers continue to face exceptionally tough conditions, hampered by low consumer confidence and reduced footfall.

“The boost is welcome but could just be purchases which have come earlier than usual, rather than additional spend. Some retailers face a struggle for survival as sales remain dependent on deep discounting. It will take more than a few weeks of warmth to bring Scottish retailing back to full health.”

David McCorquodale, head of retail in Scotland for KPMG, which co-authored the report, added: “Sunshine and inflation have combined to improve retailers’ sales figures. But it is worth remembering the comparison is made against last March’s particularly weak set of statistics, the worst fall in a decade at the time.”

Like-for-like food sales growth of 2.4 per cent was the best since April 2011 – with bagged salads and prepared fruit proving popular among people wanting to spend time outdoors rather than in the kitchen. But the SRC said consumers continued to shop carefully, searching out value products and special offers.

Euan Murray, relationship director of corporate banking at Barclays Scotland, said: “Extreme weather has a direct impact on retail performance, and this month was no different. The unseasonably warm temperatures saw shoppers stocking up on seasonal goods, but this brief ray of sunshine was tempered by the extreme cold snap.”