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| High Street, Oxford |
Figures released from the British Retail Consortium showed that there has been a 1.4% rise in shopper footfall on the high street throughout this June, when compared to the same time last year, and reversing a 0.7% fall in May.
As well as this, out of town retail parks, such as Bicester Village, the Trafford Centre in Manchester and Merry Hill in the West Midlands have also shown signs of improvement, with footfall up 0.6%. However, shopping centres (effectively covered malls either in towns or on the outskirts) showed a drop of 3%, continuing to suffer nationwide. Overall though, there has been a 0.1% lift in footfall, which bodes well for the shopping sector in all.
Helen Dickinson, British Retail Consortium Director General, said: "The UK high street was busier in June, and BRC figures show that footfall has increased as we have seen shoppers take advantage of the good promotions available at the moment in stores."
Ms Dickinson identified the warm weather as a significant contributor, adding: "It is like that shoppers took advantage of the start of the sunshine in June to visit their local high street and buy items for their summer wardrobes."
Diane Wehrie, Retail Insights Director at Springboard, said part of the reason for gains on high streets can be put down to a greater decline in footfall than managed shopping locations in previous years. As such they start from a lower base.
But she added: "The benefit of high streets being 'open for business' 24 hours a day is also key as it is footfall which falls outside usual retail trading hours - rather than between 9am and 5pm - which is improving, and clearly shielding high streets against the ill winds of a long term decline in customer numbers."
Whether or not this is part of a larger rise in the British economy, we will have to wait and see.