Election month saw retail footfall dipping again says BRC-Sensormatic IQ

By

Sandra Halliday

Published
Aug 2, 2024

July was a disappointing month for retail footfall figures in the UK with a total decline of 3.3% according to the latest BRC-Sensormatic IQ data.

It was worse than the 2.3% drop during June, but at least there was good news for high streets with a 2.7% rise in footfall there — much better than June’s 3.1% decline. But the 0.8% drop in retail park visits and the 3.9% fall in traffic to shopping centres added to the general gloom.

All of the UK nations saw declines as well with England down the most at -3.4% while Wales was close behind on -3.2%, Scotland was on -2.3% and Northern Ireland on -2.2%.

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There was little good news from key British cities either with only Edinburgh, Liverpool and Belfast seeing rises, but all of those rises were small and lower than the rises during June.

Other key shopping cities like London, Manchester, Leeds, Cardiff, Nottingham, Glasgow, Birmingham, and Bristol were in negative territory.

Helen Dickinson, Chief Executive of the British Retail Consortium, said: “Footfall declined for the 12th consecutive month, failing to maintain the buoyancy seen in 2022/23. As summer got into full swing, many people have chosen to increase their spending on holidays and leisure activities rather than shopping. Election week also saw particularly weak footfall, as political electioneering peaked, creating uncertainty for many consumers.”

And Andy Sumpter, Retail Consultant EMEA for Sensormatic Solutions, added: “Despite a warmer and drier month compared to the washout that was June, July’s footfall faltered with shopper traffic falling back to the same levels we saw in May. As we approach a full year of seeing footfall yo-yo in its ongoing recovery, it’s clear the long tail of the cost-of-living crisis is continuing to rattle consumer confidence and is likely to prompt spending caution for some time to come, making each in-store conversion all the harder won. With election fever now over and the school holidays now in full swing, retailers will be hoping that spells a positive outlook for store performance in the months to come.”