UK footfall recovery remains sluggish

The BRC-ShopperTrak Footfall Monitor shows total retail footfall rose 9.2% week-on-week on 4 July when hospitality reopened.

Footfall for the week increased by 15.3% week-on-week, with high streets and shopping centres showing higher rises than for retail parks.

UK footfall decreased 49.6% year-on-year during the third week of reopening in England and NI, compared to a decrease of 53.4% year-on-year for the previous week.

In addition, footfall on high streets declined by 55.7% year-on-year, compared to a decrease of 58.1% year-on-year a week earlier. Shopping Centre footfall declined by 56.1% year-on-year, compared to a decrease of 60.7% year-on-year for the previous week.

Helen Dickinson, chief executive of the British Retail Consortium, said: “It remains a long way back to normality for the retail industry; two weeks after most shops reopened in England, footfall is still only half what it was a year ago. The reopening of pubs, cafés and other hospitality businesses this Saturday does not appear to have benefited shops much, with the Saturday showing more modest growth than the days prior to these locations reopening. By European standards, the UK’s recovery remains slow, and while safety measures introduced by retailers have been well received by customers, many shoppers are still reluctant to visit physical shopping locations.

“On Wednesday, the chancellor should announce measures to boost consumer demand – without it, the UK risks becoming an economic laggard in its coronavirus recovery. With the first shop closures being announced, the government must act fast to protect the three million retail jobs, as well as millions more throughout the supply chain.”

Meanwhile, Springboard figures show that footfall was up 18.4% week-on-week on 5 July, but down 45.7% year-on-year.

Diane Wehrle, marketing and insights director, said: “Footfall over last week rose modestly from the week before, however, the seven day result belies the impact of both the reopening of hospitality, hairdressers and barbers on Saturday in England and Northern Ireland, and the easing of travel restrictions in Scotland. The combination of these changes meant that the rise in footfall over the weekend was twice as great as that between Monday and Friday.

“There were also subtle differences in performance between destination types, with shopping centres and retail parks recording larger increases in footfall between Monday and Friday, but high streets benefiting from the reopening of hospitality over the weekend due to the greater preponderance of pubs and bars.”