Shopping visits decline as infections rise - BRC

Visits to UK shopping locations dropped during September as Covid-19 infections rose and restrictions were tightened, industry figures showed.

Footfall fell 30.1% in September from a year earlier and only rose by 4.7% from August, showing a slowdown in the rate of recovery, the British Retail Consortium said. In the first week of the months footfall was down 24.3% but the decrease accelerated over the month to reach 33.6% in the final week.

UK Covid-19 infections are rising fast, prompting fears about another wave of the virus. The government is trying to contain the virus through local restrictions but fears are rising about another major shutdown of businesses to stop it spreading.

High streets had the worst decline, registering a 36.9% annual drop in September compared with a 36.1% fall at shopping centres and a dip of 6.9% at retail parks, which benefited from open spaces and more supermarkets, BRC said.

Helen Dickinson, chief executive of BRC, said: "As the second wave of the pandemic sweeps the UK and additional restrictions come into force, footfall has steadily dropped during the month as many shoppers chose to stay at home. Despite this, September footfall remains an improvement on the previous month. It is likely that rising case numbers and future restrictions may see footfall decline in the coming months."

Dickinson said sales for events such as Halloween and bonfire night were likely to be muted. She called on the government to give businesses more certainty and head off a "cliff-edge" by delaying the planned reintroduction of business rates in April.