UK high streets attract more shoppers but BRC concerned at empty stores

Shopper numbers in July improved from the previous month but were still down compared to last year, while one in ten shops in the UK was vacant due to a combination of fewer pop-up shops and Brexit uncertainty.

Footfall fell 0.4% in July compared to the same month a year ago, a monthly survey from the British Retail Consortium (BRC) and Springboard found, thanks to better weather and big summer sale discounts helping attract shoppers and leading to the improvement on the sharp 2.8% footfall decline a month ago.

High street footfall bounced back to rise 0.3% after its 3.7% fall in June, while retail parks fell for the second month and shopping centres continued their marked recent decline.

The vacancy rate in town centres was 10.1%, up from its previous reading, in April, of 9.6%.

Retailers will have taken comfort from the fact that recent BRC figures show that total sales grew over the same period, said Helen Dickinson, chief executive of the BRC.

"Given the decline in footfall is slowing and High Street locations actually reported an increase in shopper numbers of 0.3%, some retailers in some locations may have some reasons to be cheerful."

She said the vacancy rates was of greater cause for concern.

"The increase in the number of empty shops is an unwelcome reminder of the heavy burden of property costs. After a long run of shop vacancies being below 10%, seeing them rise over that threshold once again will be a bitter disappointment to many."

It was the highest vacancy rate since April 2015, noted Springboard director Diane Wehrle.

"The April to June quarter can prove irregular, as post-Christmas pop ups and temporary stores disappear from the high street and the EU Referendum and political and economic uncertainty of the last quarter will have deterred some retailers from taking on leases," she said. "The next quarter’s figures will be the ones to watch to get a clear picture on any continued increase in vacancy rates, which would be concerning for town centres across the UK.”