SRC says March was lacklustre
Retail sales growth slowed in Scotland this March, but the market still outperformed the rest of the UK.

Like-for-like sales were 0.2 per cent lower than last year. Total sales increased 2.1 per cent, compared with 4.1 per cent in February. Overall UK figures showed like-for-likes sales down 1.4 per cent.

Scottish Retail Consortium director Fiona Moriarty said: 'Cold weather and a late Easter contributed to a lacklustre March. Low temperatures delayed interest in the new spring and summer lines. Nevertheless, it is heartening to see that trading in Scotland is doing slightly better than the UK as a whole.'

Clothing and footwear sales continued to fall and seem unlikely to be offset by Easter figures unless trading was particularly strong. Food sales also fell by 1.6 per cent on a like-for-like basis, but this is thought to be because Easter fell later this year. There was a slight like-for-like increase of 1.1 per cent in the non-food sector.

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