Food sales in Scotland decreased by 2.7% in October, the sixth consecutive month that sales have been negative when measured against the previous year.
However, the category’s three-month performance showed an improvement on the previous month and is just 0.9% below the 1.4% decline for the UK. The latest SRC-KPMG Scottish Retail Sales Monitor revealed that there was good demand for Halloween themed fare, like confectionery and pumpkins.
David Lonsdale, Director of the Scottish Retail Consortium, said: “The total value of retail sales in Scotland edged down once again in October, but at far more modest rate than in the previous month. However food and drink sales continued to wilt further despite good demand for Halloween related fare.”
