Scots set for festive spending

Scots are expected to trigger a festive spending free

Scottish shoppers are gearing up for a Christmas spending spree, statistics suggest.

The monthly Scottish Retail Sales Monitor showed consumer spending in October was 5% higher than the same period last year.

The report, by the Scottish Retail Consortium and Royal Bank of Scotland, recorded a 5.3% rise in overall sales, with like-for-like sales up by 2.9%.

Non-food retailers recorded the strongest overall growth of 5.7%, while food sales increased by 4.9%.

Shops hope consumers will spend more

The statistics indicate shops have begun festive sales drives following a more modest 4.5% increase in September.

In the UK as a whole, total sales improved on last October's figure by 7.1%, with like-for-like sales up by 4%.

Jeremy Peat, chief economist at the Royal Bank of Scotland, said: "Scottish retail sales turned in yet another solid performance in October.

"This all augurs well for the Christmas build-up."

Patrick Browne, director of the Scottish Retail Consortium, said the statistics showed a "healthy increase".

He said: "It is good to see a stronger increase in sales compared to last month, but disappointing that the increase is not more given that the Christmas shopping season generally begins during October."