{"id":473837,"date":"2026-03-13T17:59:16","date_gmt":"2026-03-13T17:59:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/473837\/"},"modified":"2026-03-13T17:59:16","modified_gmt":"2026-03-13T17:59:16","slug":"warning-middle-east-conflict-could-worsen-scotlands-costs-crunch","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/473837\/","title":{"rendered":"Warning Middle East conflict could worsen Scotland\u2019s \u2018costs crunch\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

The conflict in the Middle East could worsen the \u201ccosts crunch\u201d affecting households and businesses, economists have warned, amid a \u201cdisappointing\u201d February for Scottish retailers.<\/p>\n

According to figures from the Scottish Retail Consortium (SRC) and KPMG, total sales in Scotland last month were flat compared with February 2025, when they had decreased by 0.4% on the year before.<\/p>\n

This is below the three-month and 12-month average increases of 1.2% and 1.0% respectively, and brings to an end a seven-month run of \u201cpedestrian but nevertheless positive growth\u201d.<\/p>\n

Adjusted for inflation it is also a year-on-year decrease of 1.1%.<\/p>\n

There were differing fortunes for food sales and non-food sales, with the former increasing by 1.2% \u2013 below the three-month average increase of 1.4% but above the 12-month average of 0.3%.<\/p>\n

Non-food sales meanwhile fell by 1.5%, below the three-month and 12-month averages of 1.0% and 1.9% respectively.<\/p>\n

SRC director David Lonsdale said despite a \u201csparkling showing\u201d for retailers in January \u2013 when sales rose 3.3% \u2013 the figures show the challenges for Scottish retail are \u201cfar from being in the rear-view mirror\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cScottish retail sales slowed to a halt in February,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWorries that January\u2019s sparkling showing was an outlier appear to have been confirmed with flat sales figures correlating with a fall in shopper footfall.<\/p>\n

\u201cPurchases associated with Valentine\u2019s Day were a bright spot, buoyed by sales of perfumes, cosmetics, watches, and jewellery as Scots treated loved ones.<\/p>\n

\u201cFood sales also did well during the month. In contrast receipts from sales of clothing, footwear, and furniture underwhelmed.\u201d<\/p>\n

He added: \u201cThe costs crunch affecting households and firms remain real and could be exacerbated by prolonged conflict in the Middle East, which may make for a bumpy few months ahead.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs such, it is imperative that the political parties seeking to form the next Scottish government think carefully about the real-world impacts of their proposals and avoid layering even more regulatory and cost burdens onto business.<\/p>\n

\u201cWithout a dose of realism and restraint from policymakers, Scotland\u2019s retailers will struggle to invest in stores, high streets, and in keeping down prices for shoppers.\u201d<\/p>\n

Linda Ellett, UK head of consumer, retail and leisure at KPMG, said: \u201cAfter a strong January came a disappointing February, with no sales growth overall for Scottish retailers.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhile some channels, categories, and brands are showing there is still room to thrive, the combination of ongoing business costs and limited consumer spending is challenging others \u2013 with efficiency drives and technological transformation continuing at pace.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\"WhatsApp<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The conflict in the Middle East could worsen the \u201ccosts crunch\u201d affecting households and businesses, economists have warned,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":473838,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[84,1294,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-473837","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-economy","tag-business","tag-economy","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/473837","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=473837"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/473837\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/473838"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=473837"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=473837"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=473837"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}