Liz Cameron OBE
Director & Chief Executive, Scottish Chambers of Commerce
The figures showed that sales of clothing and footwear on the high streets had seen their biggest decline since current records began.
Even the Black Friday weekend which is usually one of the better periods of the year for retailers did not offer any solace, with sales falling 2.1% on a like-for-like basis compared with November last year, as online shopping was preferred over the high street.
Total sales in Scotland were down by 1.6% on November last year. Even adjusting for the estimated effect of online sales doesn’t help much as total non-food sales are down 4.1% on a year ago.
2018 has been a rough year for the high street in Scotland. From those who have closed down (such as Toys R Us and Maplin), to those have been forced to shut stores (such as House of Fraser and Marks & Spencer). In the first half of 2018 there were 58 new store openings in Scotland’s main cities and towns, but 107 closures. The shop vacancy rate is at its second highest level it has been in the past seven years.
This will make the Christmas period critical for Scotland’s high streets as they seek to overcome this slump in sales and declining footfall caused by the rise of online shopping.
The latest Scottish Draft Budget will hopefully have provided some reassurance for retailers. Business rates relief that the SRC estimate will cut £2m off the rates bills of retailers in the coming year will allow for more cash to be freed up for investment in other areas of the business.
Finance Secretary Derek Mackay’s commitment to not implementing an Out of Town Rates Levy as feared by many in the sector will have been a most welcome announcement. This added cost would not have helped already struggling retailers and small businesses not one bit.
The creation of a new £50m Town Centre Fund will intrigue many parts of Scotland who have seen widespread lack of investment in developing and maintaining crucial local centres for business and society. It will be interesting to see how this fund will be rolled out and if all of these measures will help to improve the fortunes of Scotland’s high streets in 2019.
