If you have been craving some retail therapy, you may be in luck as record summer sales can be expected once stores reopen. 

After being forced to close their doors for months during lockdown, retailers are likely to offer major discounts this summer to clear unsold stock. 

Discounts of up to 70 per cent will hit the shops from July to September, according to retail analysts. 

Retail analyst at Shore Capital Clive Black told The Times that bargain hunters will see the best deals on spring and summer clothes as stores attempt to create space in their warehouses. 

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He said: "There is a tidal wave of cheap clothes coming our way.

"Billions of pounds of stock is currently in ships on its way to UK shops and retail warehouses are already full to the gills.

"The magnitude of what has happened has never been seen in modern times. There will be record discounts."

Clothing stores and other non-essential stores have remained shut since March 23. 

According to the Scottish Government's phased easing of restrictions, small retailers will not be able to reopen until the second phase begins. 

Larger retailers will reopen with physical distancing in the third phase. 

The exact dates have yet to be confirmed and will depend on how well Scotland is coping with the Covid-19 outbreak. 

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Figures published by the Office for National Statistics showed that clothing sales fell by 50.2 per cent compared to March. 

Overall retail sales experienced a drop of 18.1 per cent in April.

Theo Paphitis, owner of the Ryman and Robert Dyas chains, told The Times: “We were already preparing for our spring sale when the stores were shut and I imagine that when the rest of the high street opens it will all be on sale.

"There will definitely be some fantastic bargains to be had."