Demand for retail slows after initial reopening rush
New figures have shown that UK retail footfall dropped by 56.6% year-on-year in June compared to a fall of 73.3% in May.
The data from Springboard reveals that the number of people visiting high streets and shopping centres declined by by 65.1% and 62.3% respectively. Meanwhile, retail parks saw footfall drop by 32.2%.
The first week of the reopening of shops in England and Northern Ireland following the Covid-19 lockdown marked a turning point with footfall increasing by 40% in the UK from the previous week. However, there was a significant slowdown in the subsequent two weeks.
Diane Wehrle, Springboard insights director, said: “The pent up anticipation to shop after more than three months of closure resulted in a huge spike in footfall in the week of reopening, however footfall in the subsequent two weeks slowed considerably, from +6.6% in the first week after reopening to +2.4% in the second week.
“Long queues coupled with a restricted shopping experience due to social distancing could be the contributing factors to this sudden drop off in footfall. This is concerning for the economic recovery path of bricks and mortar retail who are heavily reliant on customer experience.”
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Photo by Georgia Hawkins
