High street footfall drops as riots disrupt businesses

Shoppers have avoided high streets in recent days after rioting across England and Belfast led to shops being vandalised and looted, hitting footfall.

According to the real estate software firm MRI Software, footfall on UK high streets declined by an average 4.8 per cent between Sunday (4) and Wednesday (7) from the same period the week before. This compares with a smaller fall of 2.7 per cent in all UK retail destinations, including shopping centres and out-of-town retail parks.

On Wednesday (7), the number of people on high streets dropped by 7.5 per cent as shoppers were deterred by an expected new wave of rioting and counter-protests planned for the day.

Northern England and Yorkshire felt the impact of the disorder the most, with footfall down by 12.9 per cent between Sunday (4) and Wednesday (7). In the West Midlands, footfall was down by 10.6 per cent on the previous week.

The British Retail Consortium (BRC) held a meeting on Wednesday with about 190 representatives from a range of retailers – small shops, big chains and takeaway food outlets – to discuss the safety of shop staff. Retailers are monitoring the situation in different locations and may close some shops early.

Helen Dickinson, the BRC’s chief executive, said, “Many retail workers have been heading to work fearing their stores and their safety could be compromised by the looting and vandalism that has taken grip in various parts of the country.” She called for the “full force of the law” to be brought to bear on those committing criminal damage and theft against retailers.