SCOTLAND’S shops saw footfall rise in July after more than a year of declining customers.

Retailers outperformed the UK as a whole to record a 0.5% increase last month.

Scotland was one of only two regions to experience growth in July, with average UK footfall down 0.8%.

The high street was responsible for the growth as footfall dropped across retail parks and shopping centres, according to the latest figures from the Scottish Retail Consortium (SRC)/Springboard.

Ewan MacDonald-Russell, SRC head of policy and external affairs, said: “Scotland’s shops finally saw customer footfall rise after over a year of decline.

“This welcome increase was driven by a jump in shoppers visiting the high street and is a positive sign after a difficult winter.”

Earlier this year, research by PwC revealed that throughout 2017 Scotland was losing retail outlets faster than any other part of the country.

The closures appear to have slowed down, as the nation’s town centre vacancy rate dropped from 11.2% in April to 10.8% in July – but the figures remain above the UK average of 9.2%.

Diane Wehrle, marketing and insights director at Springboard, said the reduction “may be accounted for by temporary lets over the summer taking advantage of space released from stores that have ceased trading.”

MacDonald-Russell added that the “structural challenges” facing the industry still remain.

He said: “Consumers continue to choose to shop online and it’s clear for many bricks-and-mortar retailers the best approach is to continue to invest in multi-channel operations.

“That process would be eased if government, at both Holyrood and Westminster, would look to reduce the burdens currently hampering the industry.”

In recent months, several major high street brands have announced store closures across Scotland, citing the rise of online shopping and increasing rent costs.

These have included House of Fraser, which Mike Ashley's Sports Direct bought on Friday in a £90 million rescue deal.