UK retail footfall falls 3.4% in June amid heatwave

UK retail footfall fell by 3.4 per cent year-on-year (YoY) in June, compared with a 2.6 per cent decline in May, according to the latest British Retail Consortium (BRC)-Sensormatic data. The weaker traffic reading points to a more difficult store environment for retail buying, merchandising and fashion store teams.The BRC-Sensormatic data showed high street footfall dropped by 6.2 per cent YoY in June, after a 1.5 per cent fall in May. Retail park footfall decreased by 0.3 per cent, improving from a 0.5 per cent decline in May, while shopping centre footfall fell by 2.5 per cent, after a 2.4 per cent drop in May.

Across UK nations, the BRC-Sensormatic said Scotland’s footfall rose by 1.7 per cent year-on-year in June, while Northern Ireland fell by 0.9 per cent, Wales by 2.3 per cent and England by 3.0 per cent, the largest decrease among the nations.

UK retail footfall fell 3.4 per cent year-on-year in June, a deeper decline than May’s 2.6 per cent drop.
High streets were hit hardest, while retail parks and shopping centres proved more resilient during the heatwave.
For apparel and fashion retailers, lower store traffic raises pressure on conversion, merchandising and cost control in H2 across store estates.

Helen Dickinson, chief executive of BRC, said the record heatwave kept many shoppers indoors. She said high streets saw the sharpest declines, while air-conditioned shopping centres and retail parks were more resilient. London and the South East recorded the biggest decline, while other regions performed better, she added.

Andy Sumpter, retail consultant EMEA for Sensormatic, said total visits being down 3.4 per cent YoY brought the year-to-date figure to a 3.3 per cent decline at the halfway point.

He said the pattern reflected cautious consumers making fewer, more considered trips, leaving retail teams in the second half focused on converting deliberate visits into meaningful spend.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk