Wet weather puts dampener on retail footfall in September

by | Oct 8, 2021

Share this article

The recovery in retail footfall stalled in September, according to fresh data on Friday, with wet weather dampening the propensity of consumers to head out and open their wallets.
According to the British Retail Consortium (BRC), total UK footfall decreased 16.8% in September when compared to the same period in 2019, before the effects of the 2020 lockdowns, with a 1.2 percentage point increase from August.

That was above the three-month average decline of 20.5%.

Footfall on high streets fell by 22.6% in September, which was 2.2 percentage points above the previous month’s rate, and above the three-month average decline of 26.9%.

 
 

Retail parks saw footfall decrease by 1.6% when compared to 2019, which was no change from August’s rate and above the three-month average decline of 9.1%.

In shopping centres, footfall declined 35.6% over 2019, which was 2.7 percentage points below last month’s rate and below the three-month average decline of 35.1%.

For the second consecutive month, Wales saw the shallowest footfall decline of all regions at 16.2%, followed by Northern Ireland and England at 16.7%, while Scotland saw the deepest decline at 19.9%.

 
 

“While footfall at the start of September was strong, it slowed over the course of the month as increasing rainfall and ongoing fuel and supply issues convinced some consumers to stay home,” said the BRC’s chief executive officer Helen Dickinson.

“The final week of September saw the worst total footfall levels since the last week of July this year, shortly after the last Covid-19 restrictions were lifted, demonstrating the fragility of consumer confidence and how the economic recovery from Covid can be so easily undermined.

“Retail parks continue to perform better than other shopping destinations, with access to larger stores, parking, and petrol stations.”

 
 

Dickinson said that as Christmas approached, it was “imperative” that the government took further action to resolve the driver shortage, which was increasing costs and creating delays throughout the supply chain.

“Retailers are trying to recruit and train thousands of new British drivers, but 5,000 visas are not enough to fill the gap in the short term,” she said. “The government should extend the visa scheme to help prevent customers facing significant disruption this Christmas.”

Share this article

Related articles

Sign up to the IFA Magazine Newsletter

Trending articles

IFA Talk logo

IFA Talk is our flagship podcast, that fits perfectly into your busy life, bringing the latest insight, analysis, news and interviews to you, wherever you are.

IFA Talk Podcast - listen to the latest episode

x