Retailers face further uncertainty ahead because of reductions in footfall and more shops lying empty, according to the Scottish Retail Consortium.
The number of shoppers in October was 2.7% lower than a year ago, while 10.1% of shops were empty in July compared with 11.1% in October.
Scottish footfall continues to outperform most of the UK’s regions although was only marginally better than the overall UK average drop of 2.9%. The proportion of empty stores is also in line with the UK average.
Fiona Moriarty, director of the Scottish Retail Consortium, said: “The fact that Scottish vacancies have reached their highest rate since July 2011 is a cause for concern, especially this close to Christmas.
“The empty shops rate is now in line with the UK average, and indicates that there’s work ahead to ensure that our town centres can continue to be viable places to trade and spend time.
“The drop in Scottish footfall matches the September result and mirrors our recent sales figures which painted a picture of fragile recovery and many of us holding back on shopping trips until Christmas gets closer.
“There’s clearly some uncertainty ahead, but retailers will be hoping that seasonal momentum will help lift these figures.”
England and Wales showed a similar pattern of fewer shopping trips.