SCOTTISH retail sales were flat in volume terms in the fourth quarter of last year, but rose by 1.1 per cent in value terms as consumers paid more for the same quantity of goods, seasonally-adjusted figures reveal.
The figures, published yesterday by the Scottish Government, underline the pressure on household incomes, with a surge in inflation arising from sterling’s post-Brexit vote weakness having led to renewed falls in real pay in the UK.
Retail sales in Great Britain as a whole were up by a modest 0.4 per cent in volume terms between the third and fourth quarters, albeit this was better than the flat position in Scotland. The Scottish Retail Consortium has flagged the relatively greater strength of sales in London and south-east England.
SRC director David Lonsdale focused on the 1.1 per cent quarter-on-quarter rise in the value of sales in Scotland in the final three months of last year.
He said: “Our own surveys noted a more optimistic trading environment for Scottish retailers in the final part of last year and this is confirmed in this latest data, albeit the uplift in values will be flattered somewhat by rising food price inflation.
“This more positive news is welcome at a time when retailers continue to grapple with changes in shopping habits and with inflation persistently outstripping wage growth, which is making life hard for shoppers and shopkeepers alike.”
A survey published today by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors shows an increase in housebuilding drove an overall marginal rise in construction activity in Scotland in the fourth quarter of 2017.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules here