UK footfall improves but sustained recovery hangs in balance
May saw footfall levels improve across the UK’s high streets, retail parks and shopping centres, thanks to a further easing of Covid-19 restrictions, and a successful vaccination roll-out.
At the same time, however, restrictions on travel have denied many businesses, particularly those in larger town and city centres, of vital overseas tourist spending.
According to research from the BRC and Sensormatic Solutions, total UK footfall decreased by 27.7% in May (Yo2Y), with a 12.3 percentage point improvement from April. This is above the three month average decline of 46.9%.
Andy Sumpter, Retail Consultant EMEA for Sensormatic Solutions, comments: “May saw a slow but steady recovery for the high street as shoppers continued to return to bricks and mortar stores.”
“The improved shopper counts will have been helped by the reopening of indoor hospitality, which helped drive ambient footfall as consumers combined store visits with leisure and socialising.”
He adds: “While still down compared to pre-pandemic levels, we’ve seen cautious but consistent improvement to footfall with each passing month as society unlocks and the vaccine roll-out continues at pace, giving retailers a cause for cautious optimism.”
“However, the prospect of a sustained recovery is still very much hanging in the balance, with variants of concern and an uptick in infection rates threatening to undermine consumer confidence, and the final stage of unlocking far from a fait accompli.”
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