New figures from retail analysts Ispos indicate that despite the Brexit vote, the UK is carrying on shopping regardless for the time being.
According to Ipsos‘ Retail Traffic Index, the average weekly footfall in October in the non-food sector was up by 4.2 per cent compared to September – double the same month-on-month average uplift since 2010.
However, year-on-year, the footfall was down by 1.9 per cent compared to October 2015 but this figure tightened the year-to-date at -2.6 per cent compared to 2015.
London and the south east continued its return to form, leading the regions with a -1.4 per cent gap compared to 2015, while northern England had the biggest improvement on September with a leap of 6.4 per cent.
“This is another month of healthy footfall figures from the non-food sector,” Ipsos retail intelligence director Dr Tim Denison said.
“There has been a lot of talk of a strengthening economic headwind, but it is important to remind ourselves of the current reality – people have taken the Brexit decision in their stride and are carrying on going about their daily shopping routine as normal.
“Economic fundamentals are strong, we have now had two consecutive years of real wage growth and some of that extra disposable income is finding its way into store tills.
“Retail teams are working harder than ever to ensure that remains the case. One month into the ‘golden quarter‘, demand is holding up well. If it stays on a similar path, retailers will have cause to celebrate the results of the festive season.”
The Retail Traffic Index is compiled from individual shoppers entering over 4000 non-food retail stores across the UK.
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