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The Retail Sales Index for Scotland (RSIS) is a quarterly measure of the goods sold by retailers in Scotland. It is an important early indicator of how the economy is performing and of the strength of consumer spending.
During 2020 quarter 1 the volume of retail sales (amount of goods bought) has contracted by -1.1%. Over the same period Great Britain as a whole saw a -1.6% contraction.
The value of retail sales (how much was spent) contracted by -1.1% during the first quarter of 2020. Over the same period Great Britain as a whole saw a -1.4% contraction.
Quarterly results back to 2008 are available in the publication tables.
Scottish Government has been investigating ways to make faster use of available data to allow more up to date monitoring of the impact of the COVID-19 crisis on the economy, and to help policy makers and economic forecasters. The two strands to this work are a Monthly Business Index (MBI) and Monthly GDP estimates (mGDP)
As part of this work, we are proposing to change some of our normal outputs, and we shall consult users in due course. Proposals include that the Retail Sales index be amalgamated with the MBI and mGDP and suspended as a separate release until further notice, to free up resources to work on the estimates for the whole economy.