While retail footfall has fallen across all parts of the UK, the cost-of-living crisis is deepening existing financial disparities between North and South.

In the four weeks to July 3, 2022, footfall to retail destinations across the UK fell to -14.2% below pre-pandemic levels, effectively wiping out the gains seen since April, according to the latest Springboard data. 

By UK retail destination, footfall was down -17% in high streets, -18.6% in shopping centres and -3.5% in retail parks. 

 

The collapse in footfall was predominantly driven by the cost-of-living crisis and highlighted the growing financial disparities between customers in different parts of the country.

In Greater London, footfall was +27.4% above the 2021 level, compared to +8.9% in the North and Yorkshire, +7.2% in Northern Ireland and +9.2% in Scotland. 

Springboard said the North/South divide in footfall extended back to at least July 2021 but had worsened “significantly over recent months”. 

Marketing and insights director Diane Wehrle said: “Looking forward towards the remainder of the year, we would normally expect footfall to peak in August and then dip in September as the school summer break ends.

”However, in light of the increasing strain on household budgets as a consequence of inflation, this year we are anticipating that in August, footfall will plateau or even drop away marginally by circa -1% from July, followed by a decline of around -3% over the month between August and September.”

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