Scots shoppers in spending spree

Sales in Scotland rose by nearly 7% in May

Scotland's shops have recorded a sharp rise in sales compared with the rest of the UK.

Figures by the Scottish Retail Consortium suggest sales rose by nearly 7% in May.

That is contrary to a poor Christmas and a dismal start to the year.

The start of the recovery came at Easter when retailers reported a boost.

Food sales faired very well

It was expected that the rise would level off, but the reverse has been true.

Food sales did particularly well in May, but non food sectors also showed healthy growth.

Shop owners have suggested that all the early summer promotions have encouraged consumers to spend.

The weather is also believed to have played its part with the dry warm climate in the first half of May benefiting gardening and DIY retailers.

Poor Christmas

At Christmas a much hoped for spending spree did not materialise in the high streets.

In November, the Royal Bank/Scottish Retail Consortium monitor said that the total value of sales rose by only 1.5% on last year. That was well below the underlying rate of inflation.

A like-for-like comparison of individual shops' sales - which did not include shops and centres like Braehead and the Buchanan Galleries which opened last year - showed the figure is even poorer, with a fall of 2.7%.