Are the shoppers ever coming back? High street footfall was down 50 per cent year on year THREE WEEKS after non-essential shops were allowed to reopen
- Non-essential shops in England reopened on June 15, Northern Ireland June 12
- But official statistics show return of shoppers to high street has been sluggish
- In the week of June 28 to July 4 footfall was still 50 per cent down year on year
High Street footfall was down 50 per cent year on year in the third week of non-essential shops reopening in England and Northern Ireland, prompting serious concerns about the long term future of town and city centres.
Official ShopperTrak data released today by the British Retail Consortium showed the return of customers to the nation’s high streets and shopping centres has been sluggish.
Non-essential shops in England reopened on June 15, in Northern Ireland on June 12 and in Wales on June 22 and in Scotland, mostly, on June 29.
But the latest data showed in the week covering June 28 to July 4 – the third week of reopening for much of the nation – UK footfall was down 49.6 per cent year on year.
That compares to a decrease of 53.4 per cent year on year in the previous week.
The BRC said the numbers showed that ‘many shoppers are still reluctant to visit physical shopping locations’ because of coronavirus fears.
The numbers have accelerated calls for Chancellor Rishi Sunak to use his mini-Budget tomorrow to announce fresh support for the retail sector amid warnings of mass closures and massive job losses.
British Retail Consortium data published today showed the return of shoppers to the high street has been sluggish. Camden High Street in London is pictured on July 4
Retail chiefs are urging Chancellor Rishi Sunak, pictured in Downing Street on May 4, to use his mini-Budget tomorrow to announce fresh financial support for the sector
Helen Dickinson, chief executive of the British Retail Consortium, said:’It remains a long way back to normality for the retail industry; two weeks after most shops reopened in England, footfall is still only half what it was a year ago.
‘The reopening of pubs, cafés and other hospitality businesses this Saturday does not appear to have benefited shops much, with the Saturday showing more modest growth than the days prior to these locations reopening.
‘By European standards, the UK’s recovery remains slow, and while safety measures introduced by retailers have been well received by customers, many shoppers are still reluctant to visit physical shopping locations.
‘On Wednesday, the Chancellor should announce measures to boost consumer demand – without it, the UK risks becoming an economic laggard in its coronavirus recovery.
‘With the first shop closures being announced, the Government must act fast to protect the three million retail jobs, as well as millions more throughout the supply chain.’
The BRC’s statistics showed that high streets recorded footfall 55.7 per cent lower year on year last week, compared to a decrease of 58.1 per cent year on year for the previous week.
Retail parks saw footfall down 24.6 per cent year on year, compared to 28.4 per cent year on year on the previous week.
For shopping centres footfall was down 56.1 per cent year on year, compared to 60.7 per cent year on year for the previous week.
Total retail footfall for last week increased 15.3 per cent week on week with high streets and shopping centres doing better than retail parks.
The reopening of pubs, restaurants and hairdressers on Saturday saw UK footfall increase by 9.2 per cent on the previous week.
Andy Sumpter, retail consultant at ShopperTrak, said:’Last week saw one of the last pieces of the retail recovery puzzle fall into place as England opened up its hospitality sector.
‘Understandably there is a lot of noise around pubs opening their doors, but retailers and property owners will be far more interested in seeing an uplift in traffic as a consequence of cafés and restaurants reopening.
‘This didn’t really happen on Saturday, with a modest week on week gain of 9.2 per cent, against an overall week gain of 15.3 per cent.
‘The UK’s recovery rate is still trending behind that of its European peers, with last weeks footfall being around half of what it was in 2019.’