Shoppers largely avoided UK high streets in July due to heatwave conditions, with many opting to shop online instead. Research from Sensormatic for the British Retail Consortium (BRC) indicates that high street trips were down by 3.8% year-on-year last month, following a 6.2% decline in June.
Overall, the number of visitors to all shopping destinations decreased by 2.1% compared to July of the previous year. While shopping centres also saw a decline in visitors, retail parks experienced a return to growth.
Helen Dickinson, BRC chief executive, noted that London was particularly affected, with a 5.3% drop in shoppers compared to a 3% decrease across England. In contrast, Scotland and Northern Ireland recorded increases of 2.7% and 2.5% respectively, while Wales saw flat footfall where the weather was less severe.
Dickinson highlighted that retailers are investing in mitigations like air conditioning and sustainability initiatives in response to increasingly extreme temperatures. She also suggested that the current business rates system often penalises stores for such investments.