Retail footfall declines in July
New figures have shown that retail footfall declined month-on-month in July despite a rise generated between the second and third week of the month when Covid-19 restrictions were lifted.
The data from retail specialist Springboard reveals that footfall worsened over the month as a whole to -24.2% in July from -22.2% in June.
Compared to the same period in 2019, footfall was down 30.5% in high streets, 30.2% in shopping centres and 4.2% in retail parks.
Springboard sad footfall was impacted by the heatwave in the week of Freedom Day followed by rain the following week. In addition, many people were put off from going out shopping due to the “pingdemic” in case it resulted in them needing to self isolate.
In addition, Springboard’s figures show that the UK vacancy rate rose to 11.8% in July from 11.5% in April, when it had improved from 11.7% in January, and is now at its highest level since April 2013.
Diane Wehrle, marketing and insights director at Springboard, said: “All three key retail destination types were impacted, but high streets were harder hit than shopping centres or retail parks. The longer term impact of Covid on stores and destinations is becoming ever clearer as we track the vacancy rate each quarter.”
