Retail footfall down 0.9% in June
New figures have shown that retail footfall edged down 0.9% in June to mark a deeper decline than the previous month’s 0.4%.
According to figures from Springboard and the British Retail Consortium, shopping centres and retail parks saw their footfall drop by 3.4% and 0.4% respectively. Meanwhile footfall on UK high streets rose by 0.1%.
British Retail Consortium chief executive Helen Dickinson said: “Consumer behaviour has changed, with shoppers now requiring much more choice in terms of how, when and where they shop and retailers are responding to this, investing in their physical store experiences and online presence.
“Initiatives such as the Government’s Great British High Street Awards are increasingly important as communities adapt and thrive during this period of retail transformation.
“However, considerable pressure on retail remains but policy makers can help by supporting our call for a two-year freeze in business rate increases to provide some headroom while a reform of the business rates system is carried out.”
Only four areas of the UK saw footfall grow in June. These included the West Midlands at 0.8%, the North & Yorkshire at 0.5%, Northern Ireland at 3.6%, and Wales at 0.3%.
The biggest declines were seen in the East Midlands and Scotland where footfall dropped by 2.7%.
Diane Wehrle, insights director at Springboard, said: “The drop in footfall in June, the seventh in as many months, means that we are now in the longest period of continued footfall decline since 2015.
“However, with drops of less than -1% in both May and June the three month rolling average is now -1.5%, the most favourable result since November 2017. But the underlying results reveal the pressures facing retailers; footfall during retail trading hours declined across all three destination types.”
