Footfall rises by just 0.2% in August
New figures have revealed that footfall across UK retail destinations edged up by a marginal 0.2% over the month from July to August.
According to figures from MRI Springboard, high streets and shopping centres both saw increases of 0.7% while the number of visits to retail parks declined by 1.5%.
Meanwhile, footfall across all types of destinations rose annually by 1.9% in August compared to 2.1% in July and 4.2% in June.
Diane Wehrle, marketing and insights director at MRI Springboard, said: “Footfall performance in August points to a continuing weakening in consumer demand, which is unsurprising given the recent rises in interest rates and ongoing high levels of inflation.
“Footfall across UK retail destinations rose by just 0.2% from July to August 2023. However, this was not a sufficiently large enough uplift to offset the month-on-month drop of 0.3% from June, which was the first month-on-month drop of footfall in July for 14 years.”
MRI Springboard found that the gap from the pre-pandemic levels narrowed to -11% in August from -12.1% in July, but this was wider than 8.6% fall seen in June.
Looking ahead, Wehrle said: “Despite the adverse outcome in August, a glimmer of optimism is provided by the fact that the gap from the 2019 footfall level narrowed marginally to -11% from -12.1% in July.
“However, with consumers already pulling back on their shopping activity – particularly leisure-based trips – it suggests that Q4 will lead to even more cautious buying behaviour, and a challenging trading landscape for UK retail over the festive period.”
