RETAIL sales in Scotland dropped sharply in the key fourth-quarter trading period, but the fall was less steep than that in Great Britain as a whole, official figures show.
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The figures add to the picture of retailers having endured a dismal festive trading period. The UK economy is estimated by experts to have contracted or stagnated during the fourth quarter.
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Seasonally adjusted figures published yesterday by the Scottish Government show retail sales volumes north of the Border fell 0.8 per cent quarter-on-quarter in the final three months of last year. In Great Britain as a whole, retail sales volumes were down by 1% over the same period.
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