August retail footfall up 0.1%
UK retail footfall edged up 0.1% year-on-year in August to mark the second rise in four months. The increase follows a 0.4% decline in July.
Figures released by the British Retail Consortium and Springboard in their monthly footfall monitor show that footfall in high street locations rose by 1.1%, while retail parks experienced a 0.4% increase.
Footfall in shopping centres, however, continued to decline with a 1.9% drop. This was the seventh consecutive month of falling shopper numbers for the sector.
Diane Wehrle, marketing and insights director at Springboard, said: “Driving the overall rise on the high street is an increase in footfall post 5pm, which highlights the growing evening economy based on leisure activities – hospitality, food and beverage trips – and is a result of a markedly improved and expanded offering by shopping destinations. Only in retail parks did footfall during daytime trading hours improve.”
Never Miss a Retail Update!Six of out of ten area across the country saw footfall rise in August, with all reporting growth rates above the overall UK average. Northern Ireland footfall rose 2.5%, while Wales continued to report strong footfall growth, improving on July’s rate, rising 1.8%.
The West and East Midlands, North and Yorkshire and South East all witnessed footfall declines.
Helen Dickinson, BRC chief executive, said: “Although this month’s increase in footfall is only marginal, it is an improvement on last month’s 0.4% decline. It’s also only the third time this year that overall footfall has increased. So, while these figures will give retailers some cheer, they’ll only be cautiously optimistic for the months ahead.”
