Sunny weather provides unexpected boost in retail footfall

Footfall rose 3.7% from May following a small increase of 1.1% from April, according to the latest MRI Springboard data.

High street footfall post-5pm increased by 6.3% month on month, compared to an increase of 3.3% during daytime trading hours.

Annual footfall rose 4.2% in June across all destinations. High streets saw an annual increase of 5.2%, shopping centres were up 4.4% and retail parks up 1.8%.

The month-on-month increase in footfall of June this year was 3.7%, making this higher than in any June since 2009.

The overall gap from pre-pandemic footfall in 2019 narrowed to -8.6% from -10.8% – the smallest gap yet.

Springboard insights director Diane Wehrle said: “The high prevailing rate of inflation and the recent increases in interest rates appear not to have yet impacted consumer activity across UK retail destinations, with both the highest month-on-month and annual increases in footfall for June in any year since 2009. 

“Furthermore, the gap from the pre-pandemic footfall level also narrowed to the smallest yet at -8.6% from -10.8% in May. Some of this uplift will have been due to seasonal factors, with more light and warmer weather encouraging consumers to visit retail stores and destinations during daytime trading hours and restaurants and bars in the evening.

“Footfall has risen over the months from May to June in all but one year since MRI Springboard started publishing its data in 2009 – the exception being June 2016 when footfall declined by -0.1% from May following the Brexit referendum that month.

“Whilst many consumers are clearly already being hit hard by the government’s measures to control inflation, the volume of shopping activity in stores and destinations clearly continued to increase in June. 

“A proportion of trips will have been made for price comparison purposes, with consumers trading down and looking for bargains where possible. However, those consumers who still hold fixed-rate mortgages remain insulated from the full impact of the rise in interest rates, providing them with some breathing space to continue to shop ahead of the end of their fixed rate period.”