The recovery in shopper numbers since the pandemic has slowed for the third consecutive month in a reflection of the severe economic situation facing UK households, figures show. Footfall was up by just 6.8% on last September, dropping away from the 8.6% and 15.5% uplifts seen in August and July respectively, according to retail analysts Springboard.
High street footfall was 9.5% higher than last year but down from the 13.9% increase seen last month, while retail park visits were just 0.3% higher than last September. In starker findings, weekday footfall on UK high streets was down 17.4% on 2019 as around half of all employees continued to work from home for at least part of the working week.
Springboard said shoppers would spend even more cautiously from October in the face of inflation and the rise in interest rates. Diane Wehrle, Springboard’s marketing and insights director, said: “Superficially September’s results suggest that footfall has largely been unaffected by the cost-of-living crisis, with the gap from 2019 narrowing marginally to minus 12.6% from minus 13.2% in August.
