Heat curbs UK retail footfall by 14.2% Yo3Y in July: BRC-Sensormatic

Retail Parks saw footfall decrease by 9.1 per cent (Yo3Y), 1 percentage points worse than last month's rate and worse than the 3-month average decline of 8.2 per cent. Footfalls in shopping centres also declined by 24.8 per cent (Yo3Y), which is 0.7 percentage points worse than last month's rate and above the 3-month average decline of 25.1 per cent.

Northern Ireland saw the shallowest footfall decline of all nations at -12.3 per cent, followed by England at -14 per cent and Wales at -15.8 per cent. Scotland again saw the steepest decline at -16.5 per cent.

Helen Dickinson OBE, chief executive of the British Retail Consortium (BRC), said: “Following four months of steady progress, UK footfall stalled in July as record temperatures and the rising cost-of-living deterred people from visiting local shops. Meanwhile, footfall in Northern Ireland bucked the UK trend and improved slightly on the previous month.

“A new Prime Minister offers a renewed opportunity for the Conservative Party to meet its 2019 pledge for fundamental reform of the broken Business Rates system. The first step is scrapping the ‘downwards phasing’ part of Transitional Relief – a flawed system that prevent retailers paying what they owe, and instead would force them to overpay more than £1 billion between 2023 and 2026. This money could be better used to help limit price rises for customers, curb the rising cost-of-living and invest in the vitality of towns and cities around the country.”

Andy Sumpter, Retail Consultant EMEA for Sensormatic Solutions, commented: “July delivered a smorgasbord of summer disruption for retailers, as the ongoing rail strikes derailed footfall gains and the UK’s record-breaking heatwave saw shoppers shun the shops for several days as the temperatures soared. Add to this the ongoing cautiousness we’re seeing among the cost-of-living consumer, it made for a bumpy month for shopper traffic performance. And amidst the tailwinds of economic uncertainty, comes possible policy changes as the Tory leadership contest plays out; retailers will be listening closely to how the next Tory leader plans to help the High Street, whilst hoping shoppers vote with their feet in August.”

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (KD)