// The recovery of retail footfall slowed for the third month in a row, with footfall rising just 6.8%
// Springboard said shoppers would spend even more cautiously from October in the face of inflation and the rise in interest rates
The high street’s post-pandemic recovery has slowed for the third month in a row hit by the economic slump, with shoppers cutting back on shopping sprees last month amid soaring inflation.
According to freshly published statistics from retail analyst Springboard, footfall increased just 6.8% compared to a 15.6% boost in July and 8.6% in August.
High streets have been particularly hit hard by a slump in shopping activity and while footfall was 9.5% higher than last year it was down from the 13.9% increase seen last month, while retail park visits were just 0.3% higher than last September.
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Around half of all employees continuing to work at home for at least part of the working week meant that weekday footfall on UK high streets was down 17.4% on 2019.
Springboard marketing and insights director Diane Wehrle said: said: “Superficially September’s results suggest that footfall has largely been unaffected by the cost-of-living crisis, with the gap from 2019 narrowing marginally to minus 12.6% from minus 13.2% in August.
“However, far more revealing of the severity of the economic situation facing households is provided by a comparison of footfall in September 2022 with September 2021, when all Covid restrictions had been removed.
“High streets are not only facing the challenge of inflation, but hybrid working is also impacting the recovery of footfall. With around a half of all employees continuing to work at home for at least part of the working week, activity in high streets remains significantly lower than in 2019, particularly during the Monday to Friday period.”
She added: “The energy price guarantee introduced by the Government has eased some of the severe doom felt by many households. However, the ongoing rate of inflation combined with the recent rise in interest rates means that from October onwards shoppers will inevitably exercise even greater discretion and be more considered in their purchasing behaviour.
“The impact on footfall and therefore on retail sales will be immediate, with it also being likely that fewer trips will be made to larger centres that incur a greater travel cost.”
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