Ken MacKenzie, new chairman of the Scottish Retail Consortium, will insist that for retailers to prosper against a backdrop of rising costs, ministers have to encourage enterprise, growth, investment and innovation.

The SRC wants tackling shoplifting to be made a policy priority and a key performance indicator for policing, with tougher penalties for those caught.

On transport its manifesto calls for improved road links, relaxation on delivery restrictions and an end to parking being used by councils as a fundraiser.

As part of a raft of more generally business-friendly policies, retailers want more rates relief for small businesses and more consistency in trading standards enforcement across the country.

Mr MacKenzie said: "With consumers coming to terms with consecutive interest rate hikes and rising costs putting the squeeze on margins trading conditions are not ideal. However, I am confident 2007 can be a good year for retailers but there are a number of things that local and national decision makers need to do to help make that happen." He added: "We need all levels of government to recognise that decisions made at both a national and local level can have a major effect on the sector's ability to compete, innovate and drive the Scottish economy forward." His comments come as a report claimed consumer confidence slid further last month. Nationwide said its Consumer Confidence Index fell a further six points in December, following on from the nine-point slump in the previous month.

It said that for the third year in a row, consumers felt reluctant to make major purchases such as a home, car or washing machine in December, possibly preferring to wait for January sales.

The Nationwide Spending Index fell by its largest-ever margin in December, putting further pressure on retailers. Fionnuala Earley, group economist at Nationwide, said: "Consumers were much less happy at the end of 2006 than at the start of the year and don't look too confident about the future.

"The subdued view of the labour market may be some comfort to the Monetary Policy Committee, perhaps indicating that wage demands will remain modest as the current round of wage negotiations continues."