Footfall flatlines in June

Footfall from shoppers in the UK plateaued despite social distancing restrictions remaining largely the same, according to new data from the British Retail Consortium (BRC).

The latest Footfall Monitor from BRC and Sensormatic found that overall footfall in the UK dropped by 27.6% in June compared to the same month in 2019.

This represents a 0.1% improvement from May however, and is above the three-month average decline of 31.3%.

In comparison to 2019, high street footfall fell by 33.4% in June, while shopping centre footfall declined by 35.8%.

Comparatively, retail park footfall only fell by 8.1% over the same period.

Helen Dickinson, the chief executive of the BRC, said: “Overall footfall levels saw little improvement on the previous month, though retail parks and shopping centres experienced an uptick.

“Footfall is down on pre-pandemic levels, as the public are making more purposeful shopping trips, with less browsing and more buying. With most overseas holidays on hold, many Britons have sought out-of-town escapes while foreign tourist numbers have fallen. This appears to have helped footfall in smaller towns and cities.”

She added: “Retailers are hopeful that footfall will recover further with the move to the final stage of the roadmap, particularly as office workers begin to return to work in larger cities. The ongoing vaccination programme is essential to the UK economy’s success in the future, as future lockdowns would imperil the current recovery.

“Government must provide clear and consistent guidance on 12 July to ensure both the public and businesses know what is expected of them.”