Retailers suffered a summer setback as desolate high streets and the cost of living crisis kept shoppers away last month.
In another blow for the beleaguered sector, footfall in July was 0.4 per cent lower than last year.
Although shops fared better than in June, which saw a 1.8 per cent decrease year-on-year, July’s decline meant many businesses have missed out on an anticipated summer boost.
The High Street was especially hard hit, with shopper numbers sliding 1.7 per cent compared to the same period in 2024.
Shopping centres also saw depleted crowds, down 0.3 per cent, but retail parks increased 1.7 per cent, according to data compiled by the British Retail Consortium (BRC) and retail tech firm Sensormatic.
It follows bleak trading updates recently from bakery chain Greggs, which warned the heatwave had dented consumers’ appetite for sausage rolls.
Retail panic: Shopper numbers on Britain’s high streets slid 1.7% in July compared to the same period in 2024
Helen Dickinson, chief executive of the BRC, said: ‘Customers want a vibrant shopping destination, but with around one in seven shops lying empty, more needs to be done to turn town and city centres into places people want to visit.’
She called on Labour to ensure that shops did not pay more when it reformed the hated business rates system and make a ‘substantial cut’ to firms’ bills.
Only this would ‘truly benefit communities nationwide and help bring thousands of empty shops back into use,’ Dickinson added.
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