Scottish people are increasingly spending money on DIY, new research indicates.
In figures released by the Scottish Retail Consortium (SRC), total high street sales for March were 0.5 per cent higher than those recorded during the same month in 2008.
And home improvement projects seem to be driving such an increase, as the consortium claims that garden furniture and DIY equipment saw particularly strong growth.
Recent improvements in the weather were also deemed to have driven DIY sales, as well as those in other sectors.
This compares to a 0.9 year-on-year decline seen in February.
Commenting on the research, Fiona Moriarty, director at the SRC, states that retailers will hope that the figures act as evidence of a “spring boost”.
But she did assert that conditions on the whole continue to be challenging for both retailers and customers.
Meanwhile, recent research from Clydesdale Bank showed 68 per cent of Scottish homeowners are looking to carry out DIY themselves rather than hire a professional tradesman.