Total retail footfall for August in the UK has declined 1.6% year-on-year, while high-street footfall dropped 2% year-on-year, according to the latest data from Springboard and British Retail Consortium.
While the year-on-year footfall dropped 2.4% in shopping centres, retail parks witnessed a 0.3% year-on-year increase.
The 1.6% fall, the worst since April 2018, has been attributed to high summer temperatures that kept consumers away from shopping destinations.
Low Appetite For Shopping
The drop in high-street footfall was attributed to "squeeze" on wages that kept consumers away from shops.
Chief executive at British Retail Consortium, Helen Dickinson said, “With fewer shoppers visiting the high street and a difficult overall trading environment the pressure is increasing on retailers as rising public policy costs continue to bite.
"The Government must take action now and commit to a two-year freeze on business rates to help reduce the pressure of this disproportionate tax on retailers and allow for a fundamental reform of the business taxation system.”
Diane Wehrle, marketing and insights director at Springboard said that the drop in footfall in the second half of August was 2%, while the first two weeks of the month witnessed a 0.9% decline.
“Whilst it was a bit cooler (although mainly in the last week of the month while the third week still hot), most summer purchases are likely to have been made in June and July.
"And whilst we moved towards the end of the school summer holiday in August, there was still a week to go before the start of the new school year, so any uplift from the back to school trading period is likely to be reflected in September's results,” she added.
Data has also revealed that there has been a drop in daytime footfall of 2.7% in high streets and 3.1% in shopping centres.
Wehrle feels that this "subdued consumer demand" will create pressure on retailers to "reshape their proposition with the launch of new ranges, improved in-store experiences and technology enhancements in store and online, so they are fit for purpose moving forward.”
The study also revealed a 1.1% year-on-year decline in retail footfall in the period between June 2018 and August 2018.
British Retail Consortium's data in June of this year indicated a 0.9% year-on-year decline in overall summer retail footfall in shopping establishments across the UK, making it the longest period of continuous footfall decline since 2015.
© 2018 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Dayeeta Das. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: European Supermarket Magazine.
