Total retail sales in Scotland increased by 2.6% compared with November 2020, when they had decreased by 10.2%.
The latest Scottish Retail Consortium and KPMG statistical release pointed out that on a two-year basis, total retail sales continued to perform well below pre-pandemic levels, with sales down 13.4% compared with November 2019.
Scottish sales grew by 1.8% on a like-for-like basis compared with November 2020, when they had decreased by 9.6%.
Total food sales decreased 2.2% versus November 2020, when they had increased by 4.8%. On a two-year comparison, total food sales grew 2.5% in November.
Total non-food sales increased by 6.7% in November, compared with the same month in 2020, when they had decreased by 22.8%. On a two-year comparison, total non-food sales declined by 26.8% in November.
Adjusted for the estimated effect of online sales, total non-food sales decreased by 7.5% in November versus the same month last year, when they had decreased by 4.8%.
Ewan MacDonald-Russell, head of policy at the SRC, commented: “November was less Black Friday and more bleak winter as Scottish retail sales slipped again.
“With the Omicron variant now posing a question about consumer demand and going out, the prospects for strong trading in the final days up to Christmas look decidedly uncertain.
“Food sales remain a bright spot with growth on pre-pandemic sales, albeit much of that growth will be the result of higher food prices as supply chain pressures start to feed through.”
Paul Martin, UK head of retail at KPMG, added: “As we look ahead to the new year, rising costs continue to bite into margins.
“Supply chain issues have impacted the availability of goods, leaving retailers with very little room for the mega discounting events we have seen in previous January sales.”
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