Rain was not the only thing that fell this bank holiday weekend, the gusty winds and icy temperatures have meant that footfall figures were far lower than expected for UK retailers.
The three day August holiday (which usually provides a boost for the UK economy) was an indisputable washout with footfall down 14.1 per cent up until midday Monday alone. The data from retail analysts ‘Springboard‘ also revealed that despite the bank holidays sunny start, overall figures were still down 5.4 percent from Saturday through to Monday.
Once again it was the high street that took the biggest hit, whilst out-of-town retailers experienced a 0.5 rise in traffic over the weekend, their competitors saw a hefty 7.3 per cent drop over the course of the holiday.
Springboards retail and insights director Diane Wehrle said: “While we saw some positive results from smaller shopping centres, retail parks continue to triumph over the high street and shopping centres drawing people out with the convenience of parking, cafes and goods for those all important DIY projects.”
The Weather Outlook have proclaimed this years August holiday the most dismal in nearly thirty years, stating that “With heavy rain across much of the country it was possibly the worst August bank holiday Monday since 1986.” The countries tourism industry was also hit hard with the Metro estimating that the rain will have accounted for £1billion in lost revenue.
