October washout sees footfall drop 5.7% in October

Footfall decreased 5.7% in October as wet weather negatively impacted consumers’ willingness to visit UK highstreets, according to the latest data from MRI Springboard.

It found that high street footfall decreased by 4.6% in October (YoY), down from -1.7% in September.

Meanwhile, retail parks experienced a 4.3% decline, down from -2.4% in September. Shopping centre footfall decreased by 7.3% in October (YoY), down from -4.0% in September.

Of the UK nations, England saw the least significant YoY drop in footfall, showing a decrease of 5.3%. Scotland saw a YoY drop in footfall of 1.4%. This was followed by Wales at 5.6% and Northern Ireland at 6.8%.

Helen Dickinson, chief executive of the British Retail Consortium, said: “Umbrellas were up as heavy rainfall descended across the UK in October, leading many shoppers to stay at home. As inflationary pressures on households begin to ease, some people are shopping around slightly less, braving the rain only to make their final purchases. This led to a larger year on year drop in footfall in all shopping locations than we saw in September.

“While consumer confidence may be higher than 2022 it is still very weak, dropping over the last month. The economic landscape remains tough, with input prices and cost pressures above normal levels. Retailers are investing heavily in their Christmas offering – trying to provide the best value and service for their customers.”

She added: “The Government must ensure it does not unnecessarily burden retailers with additional costs and the Autumn Budget offers an opportunity to avoid a £470m-per-year business rates rise, which would push up prices and limit industry growth.”