A SURGE in Scottish food sales has helped counterbalance a drop in other parts of the country’s retail sector.

Grocery sales in May grew by 4.5 per cent compared with the same month of last year, which saw a decrease of 0.7 per cent.

It was the fastest food sales increase since July 2013, but it stands in contrast to a 3.8 per cent drop in other Scottish sales in May compared to the same month of 2016.

Scottish Retail Consortium director David Lonsdale said: “Grocery sales did well again, with the category recording its fastest growth in almost four years.

“However, that growth is partly being driven by rising food price inflation, so grocers will see only modest benefit. Non-food retail sales remained in the doldrums. For Scotland’s retailers, all eyes over the coming months will be on the direction of consumer spending, with family finances set to be buffeted further by overall inflation outstripping the growth in wages, and as recent domestic cost increases such as council tax take hold.”

He added there was more focus on value and affordability, with a corresponding dip in sales of larger or bespoke household items.

Sales of mobile phones did well, as did summer-related women’s footwear and sandals.

In May, total sales in Scotland fell by 0.2 per cent compared with the same period in 2016, when they had declined by 0.3 per cent.

The figures are contained in the KPMG Scottish Retail Sales Monitor for May.