Shop Sales Rose in Scotland at the Start of the Year
The quarterly Retail Sales Index figures, produced by Scotland’s chief statistician, show that high streets across Scotland performed better than Britain as a whole over the year. And in the first three months of 2013, Scotland’s high streets showed distinct signs of recovery. It may not sound much but the volume of retail sales went by 0.3% compared to the previous quarter, while their value rose by 0.6%. Looking at the past year as a whole, the quantity of goods bought north of the Border rose by 2%, while shoppers spent 2.5% more. This contrasts with the growth rate for the rest of the country, which saw volumes up by 1.3% and value by 2%.
Finance Secretary John Swinney described the rise in the Scottish figures as “encouraging”. He added that the rise in the volume of retail sales “…comes after a small decline of 0.1% in the last quarter of 2012, suggesting a slight recovery in consumer confidence and purchasing at the start of the year. Despite the encouraging retail sales figures, it remains a trying time for the retail industry and demonstrates again the need for the UK government to take urgent action to stimulate the economy.”