David Fenton, Senior Economic Adviser at The Royal Bank of Scotland Group, said: “The Scottish economy, like the weather, has been rather disappointing this summer. Yet another dull and damp month contributed to the continued slowdown in retail sales. This echoes the tone of the PMI survey, where activity dipped in manufacturing and the broader service sector."
“The poor weather encouraged us to do some indoor DIY, even though discounting on fitted bathrooms and kitchens was less pronounced. The less handy of us chose to spend our cash on home entertainment and books to keep ourselves – and the school kids – amused."
"Some curled up in front of new flat-screen TVs, whilst others enjoyed the latest instalment of Harry Potter. With another base rate rise in the pipeline, retailers wouldn't mind a magical spell from Harry and pals to boost sales.”
Sector Performance in July:
Clothing: July was another tough month: the year-on-year decline in sales was only just less than June's substantial drop. As in June, the reduction was caused largely by very wet weather compared with last July's heatwave. Both men's and women's summer clothes had to be heavily discounted to clear, especially value ranges and smaller items like T-shirts and shorts which would have been popular impulse buys in hot weather.
Jeans, light knitwear, tailoring and some early transitional ranges met better demand in the wet weather. Childrenswear held up relatively better, amid very aggressive competition for back-to-school basics.
Footwear: As with clothing, July's unseasonable weather hit sales of summer shoes and sandals. Clearances sales of summer stock were generally successful and achieved some growth, though often at heavy discounts. Ballerina pumps held up well and the wet weather gave a good start to some early autumn ranges. Children's footwear had a good start to back-to school.
Furniture and floorcoverings: Sales were mixed across stores and sectors, with larger items of furniture doing well in clearance sales, but garden furniture hit hard by the wet weather and needing heavy discounting to attract customers.
However, the bad weather did favour indoor projects, thus benefiting fitted kitchens and bathrooms, where discounting was less pronounced than in past months. Fitted carpets were slower, though popular at clearance discounts, while rugs and wooden flooring picked up a little.
-Ltd..jpg?tr=w-120,h-60,c-at_max,cm-pad_resize,bg-ffffff "Thermore (Far East) Ltd.")
.jpg?tr=w-120,h-60,c-at_max,cm-pad_resize,bg-ffffff "Telangana State Industrial Infrastructure Corporation Limited (TSllC Ltd)")
.jpg?tr=w-120,h-60,c-at_max,cm-pad_resize,bg-ffffff "Taiwan Textile Federation (TTF)")
