Shops 'in worst slump for decade'

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Scots high street stores have suffered their worst monthly fall in non-food sales since 1999, figures have shown.

The Scottish Retail Consortium (SRC) said overall sales in December were 0.8% higher than in December 2007.

But when food shopping was taken out of the equation, sales were down 5.4% on a like-for-like basis.

SRC director Fiona Moriarty said widespread promotions and huge price cuts could not stop the worst slump in non-food sales in almost a decade.

But she said it had rescued what seemed to be a "disastrous" period for retailers.

'Immense pressure'

"December was a tale of two halves," Ms Moriarty said.

"The first half of the month was extremely slow then it took heavy discounts to drive sales immediately before and immediately after Christmas.

"Food retailing was more resilient, though strong sales were against a very weak December in the previous year.

"Widespread promotions and discounts for all goods put immense pressure on margins," she added.

Ms Moriarty said the figures also obscured major differences between food and non-food sales.

While the food sector had a "very solid" Christmas, non-food sales were well below last Christmas.

Despite the gloom, the 0.8% overall increase in like-for-like sales contrasted with a 3.3% decline for the UK as a whole.

Total sales in Scotland, which include new store openings, were up 3.4%.