Scottish retail sales fell marginally last month as the supermarket price war continued to heap pressure on the groceries sector.
The latest British Retail Consortium-KPMG Scottish retail sales monitor showed total food sales were down 1.8% last month.
On a like-for-like basis (LFL) food sales were 3.5% lower.
“For the second month in succession a favourable rise in footfall on Scotland’s high streets hasn’t translated into an increase in actual sales,” SRC director David Lonsdale said.
“Total sales in August eased back 0.3% compared to 12 months earlier, albeit after a strong performance during the same period last year.”
The non-food sector fared better, with a total sales uplift of 0.9% during the month, although they were still 0.3% down on a LFL measure.
Clothing and footwear were the top performers.
The figures were presented against strong comparatives from a year earlier, and the authors said total sales were ahead by 1.3% when adjusted for deflation measured by the BRC-Nielsen Shop Prince Index.
David McCorquodale, head of retail at KPMG, said the figures showed “respectable growth” in non-food sales, but consumers in Scotland remained cautious.
“Retailers have worked hard to convert the increase in footfall in Scotland to sales through the tills. Some will feel satisfied with their efforts,” Mr McCorquodale said.
“Whilst the competitive grocery market continues to drag down the sector’s performance as a whole, the gap between the decline in Scotland and that in the rest of the UK has narrowed again, indicating that this is a country-wide matter rather than a reflection on regional tastes or trends.
“This time last year, the Scottish three-month average total non-food sales growth was fractionally ahead of the UK as a whole.
“A year on, and the UK is showing 2.5 percentage points more growth than the Scottish market which is probably a reflection of increased confidence in the recovery of the housing market and wage rates in the south when compared to Scotland.”