Retail footfall resilient in August despite riot disruption

Retail footfall across the UK experienced a slight decline of 0.4% year-on-year in August, according to fresh BRC-Sensormatic IQ data released on Friday morning.

That represented a significant improvement from July's 3.3% drop, indicating a degree of resilience in the sector despite disruptions caused by riots earlier in the month.

High street footfall saw a marginal decline of 0.3% compared to August 2023, recovering from the 2.7% decrease recorded in July.

Retail parks outperformed other retail locations, with footfall increasing by 2.6% year-on-year, a notable improvement from the 0.8% decrease seen in the prior month.

Shopping centres, while still experiencing a decrease in foot traffic, showed signs of recovery with a 1.8% drop, better than the 3.9% fall in July.

“As violent disorder erupted across the country earlier in the month, footfall was severely impacted as many people stayed away from shopping destinations,” said Helen Dickinson, chief executive of the British Retail Consortium.

“Retail parks saw footfall levels rise in the week following the riots as some continued to avoid high streets and shopping centres.

“Footfall recovered across all destinations towards the end of the month when warmer weather and summer sales prompted shoppers to browse their favourite stores.”

Regional performance varied, with Northern Ireland and Scotland showing positive growth in footfall.

Northern Ireland saw a 1.4% increase year-on-year, while Scotland recorded a 0.7% rise.

In contrast, England and Wales reported declines of 0.5% and 1.8%, respectively.

“While year-on-year footfall changes improved on July, they remain in negative territory,” Helen Dickinson added.

“Local communities need the government to implement its high streets plan to help drive footfall back into growth.

“The upcoming budget is an opportunity to move forward with the plan to fix the broken business rates system which acts as a brake on retail investment, and contributes to our declining high streets as it leads to so many store closures up and down the country.”

Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.