Retailers face a "nerve-racking" run-up to the festive season after November sales were the worst for 21 months, a new report has said.

Total sales in Scotland last month fell by 1.6% compared with 0.6% in November 2017, the SRC-KPMG Scottish Retail Sales Monitor showed.

It is the deepest decline since February 2017, excluding Easter distortions, and below both the three-month and 12-month averages of -0.2% and 0.5% respectively, the report said.

Adjusted for inflation, measured at 0.1% by the BRC-Nielsen Shop Price Index, November sales decreased 1.7%.

Meanwhile, like-for-like sales dropped 2.1% compared to November 2017, when they fell 1.3%.

This is below the three-month average of -0.9%.

Scottish Retail Consortium (SRC) director David Lonsdale said: "Retail sales in November recorded their poorest performance for 21 months, with pretty dire results for items deemed less essential dragging overall retail sales into negative territory.

"Grocery sales grew but at a less pronounced pace than witnessed during the summer and early autumn.

"The gulf between food and non-food categories became starker, with the latter sinking markedly - to a 20-year low - despite Black Friday discounting and the proximity to Christmas.

"Food, gaming, mobile phone and associated accessories fared reasonably well, however, toys, beauty products, clothing, footwear and smaller domestic appliances struggled.

"Retailers now face a nerve-racking few weeks leading up to the crucial festive season, after what has been a bruising year for many."

The figures cover the four weeks from October 28 to November 24.

Paul Martin, UK head of retail at KPMG, said: "Black Friday sales were disappointing, with total sales in Scotland falling 2.1% on a like-for-like basis compared to November last year.

"As we've come to expect, online shopping took precedence over the high street, with consumers preferring to browse and purchase items from the comfort of their homes."