Scottish Retail Consortium warns of ‘uncertainty ahead’

Retailers face further uncertainty ahead because of reductions in footfall and more shops lying empty, according to the Scottish Retail Consortium.

The number of shoppers in October was 2.7% lower than a year ago, while 10.1% of shops were empty in July compared with 11.1% in October.

Scottish footfall still outperforms most of the UK although was only marginally better than the UK average drop of 2.9%. The proportion of empty stores is in line with the UK average.

Fiona Moriarty, director of the Scottish Retail Consortium, said: “The fact that Scottish vacancies have reached their highest since July 2011 is a cause for concern.

“There’s clearly some uncertainty ahead, but retailers will be hoping that seasonal momentum will help lift these figures into more positive territory next month.”