In what was an unexpected turnaround, footfall strengthened across UK retail destinations in August to -13.2% below 2019 from -14.2% in July, when it had weakened from -12.3% in June.
Latest figures from Springboard reveal that footfall strengthened in high streets to -15.1% and to -17.5% in shopping centres but worsened in retail parks to -4.5%.
The rise in temperatures to record levels during the middle of August only had a localised and short-lived impact on footfall. Springboard said it meant that footfall weakened from the week before in the second and third weeks driven by some shoppers avoiding high streets. In contrast, in shopping centres which benefit from controlled temperatures, footfall only declined week-on-week by an average of -0.9% during the extreme heat in the middle of the month and rose week-on-week over the first and fourth weeks by +0.5%.
Diane Wehrle, marketing and insights director at Spotlight, commented: “Looking forward to September, we are expecting the traditional dip in footfall from August as schools go back, which has occurred every year since Springboard started publishing its footfall data in 2009. The magnitude of the dip from August to September in 2019 was -3.3%, and as the euphoria of a hot and sunny summer ends and the anticipation of austerity awaits, we anticipate that the drop in footfall from August to September this year will be at least equal or even greater than this.”
