Retail footfall across the UK slipped in the latest week, as cooler weather put people off from going out to shop, according to the latest figures from retail specialist Springboard.
Springboard said retail footfall last week dropped by 1.7% week-on-week, with High Streets being hurt the worst (-2.2%), followed by shopping centres (-1.3%), and retail parks (-1%). In comparison, retail footfall for the same week in 2020 was up 4.1%, helped by the government’s ‘Eat Out to Help Out’ scheme.
The report said footfall was down in all geographical areas except one, with drops of 3.3% in the North, 2.9% in coastal areas, and 0.6% in the South East. Greater London was the only area to experience an increase, with footfall edging up 0.2%.
Diane Wehrle, insights director at Springboard, said: “The penultimate week of the school summer holiday period was something of a damp squib. Rain most days across all areas of the UK accompanied by cool temperatures led to footfall across UK retail destinations dropping from the week before, eradicating all of the uplift gained in the previous week. As is usually the case when it rains, high streets fared worse than both the covered environments of shopping centres, and retail parks which are easy to access by car and have parking in close proximity to stores.”
The latest figures have resulted in the gap from 2019 footfall levels widening again, to -20.6%, with the greatest impact being felt in high streets (-26.3%, from -21.7% last week). However, UK footfall overall was 15.1% higher than in the same week last year, and 20.8% up in high streets.
