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Trade News Archive 2009 January February March April May
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20th May 2009
Scottish retail sales picking up
Like-for-like retail sales across Scotland rose by 4.3 per cent in April compared to the same month a year earlier, new figures have revealed.
According to the Scottish Retail Consortium (SRC), total sales were also 8.2 per cent up on last year, with the clothing and footwear sectors enjoying particularly high levels of consumer spending.
However, the SRC echoed sentiments expressed by its parent organisation the British Retail Consortium (BRC) earlier this month, noting that April sales may have been inflated by the unseasonably warm weather and a later Easter than in 2008.
Fiona Moriarty, director of the association, said: "These are strong figures but it's too soon to say we've turned the corner.
"It's hard to make a simple comparison with last year when Easter, which usually helps sales, was in March and the weather was poor."
She added that sales of expensive household items, such as furniture, remained subdued because of job uncertainty and the low levels of activity being seen in the housing market.
According to the BRC's April figures for the UK, internet and mail-order sales continued to do well, rising by 12.5 per cent over last year.
(c) 2009
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