'Lacklustre' retail sales ahead of Christmas

Image source, Getty Images

Image caption, Black Friday sales were a "damp squib", the Scottish Retail Consortium said

Retail trading in Scotland in November was "lacklustre" with Black Friday sales lower than expected, new figures show.

Experts said shops were experiencing a "weak" Christmas period when compared with previous years.

Total sales in Scotland increased by 3.1% last month compared with November 2022, when they had grown 8%, the latest Scottish Retail Consortium (SRC)-KPMG retail sales monitor showed.

Adjusted for inflation, retail sales fell by 1.2%, the fifth successive month of declining performance, including the first two months of the "golden trading" final quarter of the year.

Ewan MacDonald-Russell, of the SRC, said: "Shoppers continue to shy away from larger purchases, and it appears many are holding back festive gift spending - either hoping for further discounts ahead of Christmas itself or just cutting back in the face of the continued cost-of-living squeeze."

Paul Martin, of KPMG, said: "Looking ahead to the early months of 2024, the challenges are expected to persist, posing a threat to the sector and potentially leading to more casualties, especially for online retailers facing over 28 consecutive months of sales decline."