Footfall drops 2.1% in July as heatwave hits high street visits
This year’s heatwave conditions continued to affect footfall in July, with high streets hit the hardest.
According to data from the British Retail Consortium (BRC) and Sensormatic, total UK footfall was down 2.1% year-on-year, although this was an improvement on the 3.4% decline seen in June.
Subscribe to TRBHigh street footfall fell by 3.8%, as the unusually hot, dry weather discouraged people from going out shopping. While footfall in shopping centres dropped by 1.4%, retail parks fared better with an uplift of 1.2%.
England recorded the weakest performance of any UK nation, with a fall of 3%, as London footfall declined by 5.3%.
BRC chief executive Helen Dickinson said: “The heatwave continued to bear down on retail footfall in July with high streets worst affected.
“London was hit particularly hard as soaring temperatures made tube journeys and train travel less attractive, with some shoppers an commuters opting to stay home.
“Nonetheless, it was still an improvement on the previous month’s figures, when record-breaking sunshine saw footfall fall by an even bigger margin.”
She added: “Climate change continues to to deliver more and more extreme temperatures in the UK.
“Retailers are responding by investing in both mitigations – such as more air conditioning and more efficient refrigeration units – and in sustainability initiatives aimed at reducing carbon emissions.
“Unfortunately, business rates often punish stores for such investments, showing the need for government to look again at this broken system.”
