Small growth in Scottish retail sales in the last quarter was welcomed by the nation’s shopkeepers, but they expressed concern that the recovery was fragile.
Retail sales north of the Border grew in volume by 0.7% from January to March, driven in part by greater food purchases.
The Scottish Government figures also revealed that more shoppers made non-food purchases online.
The statistics from Scotland’s Chief Statistician further showed that the volume of retail sales grew by 2.7 per cent annually.
The value of Retail Sales, without adjusting for inflation, grew by 0.1% in the first quarter of 2016 and by 0.1 per cent annually.
David Lonsdale, director of the Scottish Retail Consortium, said the resumption of growth – although meagre – in the headline value of retail sales was encouraging.
He believed the figure looked less rosy once falling shop prices are taken into account, suggesting a continuing fragility in consumer confidence in Scotland.
This was despite lower prices in shops and at the petrol pump, and average pay rises outstripping inflation.
He stated: “Our new MSPs can help by channelling their collective energies into ensuring that the retail industry, Scotland’s largest private sector employer, is even better placed to be able to invest, expand and create jobs.”
Euan Murray of Barclays Corporate Banking, Scotland, expected online retail space to become ever more important in the future.
