RETAILERS in Scotland experienced their toughest month in five years in April according to the latest figures from the Scottish Retail Consortium and KPMG.
During the month, Scottish sales decreased by 3.8% compared to April 2017, when they had increased by 3.0%.
This is below the three-month average decrease of 1.1%, but was expected because Easter fell early this year.
Total food sales decreased 0.8% against April 2017, when they had increased by 6.8%.
This result is below the three-month and 12-month averages of 3.5%. and 4.2%, but the three-month and 12-month averages are above UK levels of 3.0% and 3.5%.
Head of policy and external affairs at SRC, Ewan MacDonald-Russell, said: “Food sales were quite resilient, especially since Easter fell in April last year.
“It’s apparent consumers continue to prioritise grocery shopping over more discretionary purchases.”
Craig Cavin at KPMG added: “The three-month average is slightly more palatable, with sales falling by only 0.5 per cent, but overall it remains a testing time for retailers.”
