Record temperatures take their toll on UK shoppers
Numbers fall as heatwave bites
August 12 2003
A week of record temperatures has hit shopper numbers in the UK, according to the latest figures from FootFall.
The number of shoppers across the UK during last week’s hot weather was down 7.3 per cent compared to the same week in August 2002. The equates to a 9.3
per cent week-on-week drop, the largest decline in the FootFall Index since April 2001, except for the post-Christmas periods.
David Smyth, marketing manager at FootFall said: “Over the last few weeks we have seen some buoyant footfall levels with a large increase in the second to last week in July that coincided with the start of the school holidays in most parts of the country.
“With the record temperature levels that we have been seeing over the last week, and the widely reported effect that this has on the UK populations buying habits, we can only conclude that this is the reason for the less people are going shopping in general but also the scale of the drop off from the week before.
“Our figures also show that over last weekend, when the record temperatures were recorded, footfall was down 8.5 per cent on the same weekend last year. Obviously people took the chance to either stay at home and enjoy the weather or make the most of the British beaches.
“As this hot weather persists it will become increasingly difficult for retailers to estimate the impact on their specific business for the next few days let alone over the coming weeks.”
