THE value of Scottish retail sales tumbled last month at its fastest annual pace since comparable records began in 1999.
The fall is revealed in figures published today by the Scottish Retail Consortium (SRC), which show the value of sales in November was down 1.3% on the same month last year. These numbers signal conditions on the high street continue to be much worse in Scotland than in the UK as a whole.
Figures published earlier this month by the British Retail Consortium showed retail sales value in the UK as a whole in November was up 0.7% on the same month last year.
With annual UK consumer prices index inflation at 4.8% in November, the year-on-year slide in retail sales volumes in Scotland last month will almost certainly have been much steeper than the drop in value reported by the SRC.
The figures highlight weak consumer confidence, as fears of a double-dip recession mount and people fret about unemployment amid swingeing public sector job cuts.
The SRC warned the start of 2012 would be a "make-or-break period" for some retailers.
Ian Shearer, director of the SRC, said of the 1.3% year-on-year slide in retail sales value north of the Border in November: "This performance is particularly troubling in the run-up to Christmas.
"Consumer confidence is currently lower in Scotland than the UK average and householders are more worried about jobs and the state of their personal finances."
Non-food sales, the more discretionary element of consumer spending, were particularly weak. The value of non-food sales in Scotland in November was down 3.3% on the same month last year.
The SRC highlighted weakness in sales across the non-food categories, including clothing and footwear, furniture and floor-coverings, and homewares. Sales of computers, particularly laptops and tablets, were more buoyant, but retailers found it more difficult to shift larger televisions amid strong competition in this category.
Food sales in Scotland in November were up 0.9% on the same month last year. However, taking into account inflation, this likely points to a year-on-year fall in food sales volumes.
Mr Shearer observed that the continuation of mild weather into November had "added to the woes" of clothing and footwear retailers, which struggled to sell winter ranges.
Holding out hope that trading might improve as Christmas drew nearer, but highlighting the fact that retailers were slashing prices in a bid to win sales, Mr Shearer added: "With no immediate hope of an upturn and damaging increases in business rates on the horizon, the start of 2012 will be a make-or-break period for some retailers."
However, bosses at some of Scotland's major shopping centres said the statistics did not tell the whole story.
Ryan Manson, general manager for Union Square shopping centre in Aberdeen, said: "Despite the economic outlook, we don't seem to be seeing any sign of trading slowing in Aberdeen. Last weekend was our busiest weekend this year and our second busiest Saturday since opening over two years ago.
"We are expecting it to get even busier as we gear up for the last shopping weekend before Christmas."
Peter Beagley, general manager at Braehead Shopping Centre in Renfrewshire, said: "Footfall at Braehead not only increased last month compared with November 2010, but we will also see an increase in footfall for the whole of 2011."
Andrew Cronie, centre manager for The Gyle in Edinburgh, said: "If we look at some items, such as warm winter clothing, the period of milder weather at the start of November would naturally mean they are down.
"But our food shops and coffee shops have been doing well. We also experienced a very busy end to the month, as the public sector strike meant many people spent the day shopping. Let's just wait and see what happens over the next 10 days."
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