Shopper numbers were boosted by the platinum jubilee in June, but footfall is expected to remain behind pre-pandemic levels for the “foreseeable future” as the cost-of-living crisis impacts consumer behaviour.
Footfall to shopping destinations dropped 12.3% in June compared with the same month in 2019, an improvement on the 13.7% decline recorded in May.
Experts at Springboard, which compiled the data, said the gains were “wholly due” to an 8.6% increase in footfall during the platinum jubilee week compared with the same period last year.
However, traffic to high streets, shopping centres and retail parks across the jubilee week remained 4.9% down on pre-pandemic levels, even after the fillip of a four-day weekend.
Retail parks proved the most robust locations during June, recording a 2.1% decline in shopper numbers compared with the same month in 2019. Footfall to high streets fell 14.9% from pre-pandemic levels, while traffic to shopping centres tumbled 16.5%.
Springboard said the data “reinforces our view that the cost-of-living crisis is starting to impact consumer behaviour and constrain shopper activity”.
It added that hybrid working also continued to impact shopper numbers in larger towns and cities. Footfall in central London was 21% down on 2019 levels in June, while outer London suffered a 9.9% drop.
Other large city centres across the UK recorded a 15.8% contraction in traffic during June – a similar result to market towns, which were hit by a 15.2% decline.
Springboard has forecast that footfall will remain “at least 10% to 15% below 2019” during the second half of 2022.
Springboard marketing and insights director Diane Wehrle said: “In the short term, the overall impact [of the cost-of-living crisis] on the retail sector is being mitigated by robust store sales that continued in June overall, although sales performance was more erratic than in May with shifts from a positive to negative position occurring from week to week – the first sign that consumers are starting to pull back on spending.”
Wehrle cautioned that spending from middle-income families, which had “undoubtedly buoyed” store performance so far this year, would also slow in the coming months with further energy price increases looming in October.
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