UK retail footfall suffers in heatwave as Britons head to the coast

Heatwaves and UK consumers are not good companions. A rise in temperatures last week (15-21 June) across the country saw a retail footfall plateau, driven by declines in retail parks and shopping centres. Strangely, with little outside cover and air-con, high streets actually “thrived”, albeit with a modest week-on-week increase, according to MRI Software.

Retail footfall dipped by 0.1% week-on-week in all UK retail destinations, driven by a drop in retail park (-1.3%) and shopping centre (-1.5%) activity but high streets saw visitor levels increase +1.2%.

year-on-year trends remained marginally lower in high streets (-1.8%) and shopping centres  (-1%) although retail parks saw an increase in activity of +2.2%

While the week (Monday to Friday) showed positive footfall trends compared to the week before, it was bookended at the weekend by “steep declines wiping out any gains made throughout the week”, the report said.

In particular, retail parks and shopping centres suffered the most on Saturday which may have coincided with a couple of factors; northern parts of the UK experienced severe storms whereas southern parts continued to bask in the heatwave.

“Both of these reasons may have deterred shoppers from heading out altogether or may have been encouraged to visit outdoor spaces which was reflected in a lesser decline in high streets on that day”, the report said.
 
That view was backed up by the fact coastal towns made the most of the heatwave with a double digit (11.4%) week-on-week rise, and up 0.8% year on year. Historic towns and regional cities outside of London also benefitted (+1.8%) suggesting day trips were popular.

By contrast, Central London saw a dip in activity as did office-dense locations in the capital. MRI Software’s Back to Office benchmark revealed marginal declines of 2% and 0.6%, respectively, from the week before. year-on-year footfall was 4.4% and 3.1% lower, respectively, in these locations.

MRI added: “As weather patterns are ever changing and discretionary spending remains under pressures, it’s important for retail leaders to keep a close eye on these changes – the climate, consumer intent, as well as calendar events that occur one year but not the next.

“High streets and leisure-oriented destinations typically tend to be favoured in good weather, as do air-conditioned spaces, therefore operations should be reviewed in line with external factors – from staffing to machine maintenance.”