Retail footfall up 0.8% in June
UK retail footfall edged up 0.8% in June as the month’s better weather encouraged people to visit stores in external environments.
According to figures from the British Retail Consortium and Springboard in their monthly footfall monitor, high street footfall rose by 0.9% while footfall in retail parks increased by 2.3%.
Meanwhile, footfall in shopping centres edged down 0.8% in the period.
Diane Wehrle, Springboard marketing and Insights director, said: “The uplift in footfall in June, compared with the 1% drop in May, and its divergence from sales, can be attributed to a number of factors. The weather was far better than in June last year, which encourages consumers to visit bricks-and-mortar destinations, particularly external environments such as high streets and retail parks.
“Also in recent months, we have seen rising footfall in the hours after 5pm, illustrating the trend in consumer behaviour towards leisure trips after retail trading hours, demonstrated by the rise in hospitality sales of +0.3% in June.”
The figures show that most parts of the UK benefited with the East of England especially witnessing brisk growth.
The British Retail Consortium warned that maintaining growth in footfall in the coming months could be difficult.
Helen Dickinson, chief executive of the British Retail Consortium, added: “Amidst economic uncertainty and mounting concern over the inflationary squeeze on household incomes, sustaining growth in shopper footfall will be challenging, more so as retailers seek to convert that into an improved performance at tills.”
