July sees month-on-month footfall decline
New figures have shown that footfall across UK retail destinations declined by 0.3% over the month from June to July as the country was hit by rising interest rates, rainy weather, and ongoing rail disruption.
This compares to a rise of 3.7% over the month from May to June.
According to MRI Springboard, there was a month-on-month decrease in high street visits of 1.7% while shopping centres and retail parks saw respective uplifts of 1.7% and 0.7%.
This is the first July since MRI Springboard started publishing its data in 2009 that overall footfall was lower than in June.
Giving an annual comparison, the company said footfall rose by 2.1% in July on the same month last year versus a 4.2% increase in June. Meanwhile, the gap from the pre-pandemic levels widened to -12.1% in July from -8.6% in June.
Looking ahead, Diane Wehrle, marketing and insights director at Springboard, said: “With the fourth quarter of the year looming, and many holidays either paid for or taken, it is inevitable that consumers’ attention will now turn towards planning for Christmas spending, which may well dampen footfall further in the latter part of the summer.”
