Rain dampens shoppers' spirit this week as footfalls fell across retail stores

UK’s wet weather played a spoilsport last week as footfall across retail destinations declined by -1.7 per cent last week(15-21 August) as compared to the week before, claimed a report on Monday (23).

As per a report by retail data firm Springboard, footfalls across all retail destinations in UK saw a slight decline as compared to last week with high-street being worst hit with a drop of -2.2 per cent versus more modest drops of -1.3 per cent in shopping centres and -1 per cent in retail parks.

Shopper numbers fell everywhere apart from Greater London, where it inched up by 0.2 per cent - another sign that the early post-lockdown rebound in consumer spending is fading.

Overall, footfall in retail stores was 15.1 per cent higher than the same week last year but remained at a lower level when compared with the pre-pandemic year of 2019.

Diane Wehrle, insights director at Springboard, said: “Rain most days across all areas of the UK accompanied by cool temperatures led to footfall across UK retail destinations dropping from the week before, eradicating all of the uplift gained in the previous week."