UK Retail footfall hit by 10pm curfew

UK retail footfall fell by 3.5% last week compared with the week before as the 10pm curfew and wet weather impacted people going out, according to data from Springboard.

Footfall was down 7.1% on high streets, while shopping centre footfall was flat and retail parks up slightly by 0.8%.

All of the decline was in the second part of the week as the weather worsened, while the decline between 7pm and 7am was worse than that between 7am and 7pm.

Footfall remains 31.4% lower than last year overall, with the high street faring worst with a 39.4% decline. Footfall in shopping centres is down 33.7% year on year and in retail parks is down 11.8%.

Springboard insights director Diane Wehrle says: “For the second consecutive week, and only the third week since the beginning of May, footfall across retail destinations declined last week from the week before.

“The 10pm curfew is clearly having an impact; while shopping centres and retail parks with only minimal evening economy activity are holding their own, high streets – where the majority of evening economy activity occurs – are feeling the effect.

"Inevitably the gap in activity from last year widened further, particularly in high streets, where footfall is now more than a third lower than it was in 2019.”

Elsewhere in the economy, UK car registrations fell 4.4% year on year – the worst decline in 20 years in what is usually the industry’s second most important month.

There were just 328,041 new registrations in September, according to the the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT).

Nevertheless, business activity slowed less than thought in September despite fresh lockdown restrictions and the end of the Eat Out to Help Out scheme.

IHS Markit and CIPS’ purchasing managers’ index (PMI) for the services sector dropped to 56.1 in September from 58.8 in August, but this was more than the expected value of 55.1%.

The composite PMI, which includes manufacturing, came in at 56.5, again lower than August but better than expected. Anything above 50 indicates a growth in activity.