Grey weather dampens footfall for UK retailers in August

Poor weather and strong comparisons with last year meant that footfall across the UK retailing sector was down in August, according to stats out Friday from the British Retail Consortium.

The BRC said that footfall across the UK fell by 1.6% last month when compared with August 2022, reversing the annual 1.8% increase experienced in July.

High street footfall fell by 0.9%, retail parks footfall was unchanged but shopping centre footfall plummeted 3.8%.

"Footfall took a turn for the worse in August as the summer sun failed to materialise," said Helen Dickinson, chief executive of the BRC. "The impact was made worse when compared to last year’s heatwave, where many shoppers rushed to the shops to buy clothing, BBQs and other outdoor essentials."

Scotland was the only UK nation to see a year-on-year improvement in footfall, at 0.4%, while England experienced a 1.3% decline, Wales figures fell 1.7% while Northern Ireland levels tanked 4.7%.

Dickinson said that the rise in tourism, which returned to pre-Covid levels last month, wasn't enough to help key shopping destinations, and called on the government to re-introduce a tax-free shopping scheme to attract international shoppers, who are currently choosing other destinations.

"Unless action is taken, the UK remains the only European country without a VAT-free shopping scheme a scheme," she said.