Retail footfall down 80% in May

However, the decline was shallower than that seen in April, as more categories of shops could reopen.

The BRC-ShopperTrak Footfall Monitor reveals that footfall on high streets declined by 77.8% year-on-year, while shopping centre footfall declined by 84.9% year-on-year.

Helen Dickinson, chief executive of British Retail Consortium, said: “The second month of lockdown has continued to show a significantly reduced level of footfall in all retail locations. The decline was less severe than April as more retailers, including garden centres and homeware shops, began to reopen, though the vast majority of stores remained closed. Retail Parks, with more supermarkets and essential stores on their sites, saw a shallower decline in footfall while high streets and shopping centres remained massively down on the previous year. Other countries that have lifted their lockdown have seen footfall rise by around 15-25 percentage points in the initial weeks, and many retailers will hope for a similar, if not larger rise, as shops in England begin to reopen.”

Andy Sumpter, retail consultant – EMEA of ShopperTrak, added: “There are no real surprises for May as footfall has remained over 80% down overall. Much like April, retail parks have fared better than other formats, down just 55%, with the high street down almost 78% and shopping centres 85%. Compared to other European countries – France, Germany, Italy and Spain – the UK will be the last to start its recovery process, having already had the longest disruption.

“In the short term, we expect consumers will visit less, but buy more each visit, making each shopper all the more precious. Footfall has a totally new value.”