Like-for-like sales rose by 6% on last year's figures

Figures from the Royal Bank of Scotland and the Scottish Retail Consortium (SRC) showed sales for March were up 6% on the same period last year.

They said it was difficult to compare the figures with 2004 because Easter fell a month earlier than last year.

SRC director Fiona Moriarty said the figures for April this year would give a more realistic comparison.

She said: "On the surface, the figures for March look extremely buoyant, but this is to some extent an artificial Easter boost.

An early Easter brought a mini-bonanza to Scottish retailers, with the strongest like-for-like sales growth in six months Sharon McDowall Royal Bank of Scotland

"Extremely aggressive promotional activities were undertaken by many high street stores over the long Easter weekend resulting in high volumes of sales but extremely tight margins, and Easter fell in March this year but April last year.

"April's figures will allow us to more realistically compare sales growth to last year and, as the spring weather still hasn't arrived, it's unlikely that April will be record-breaking."

The retail sales monitor said that total sales rose by 9.6% on last year, with like-for-like sales up by 6%. That figure also represented a 3.9% increase on February.

Shops selling food and drink did well over the holiday period, but DIY stores suffered because of the bad weather.

Sharon McDowall, senior economist at the Royal Bank of Scotland, said: "An early Easter brought a mini-bonanza to Scottish retailers, with the strongest like-for-like sales growth in six months.