Recovery in shopper numbers slows as inflation bites

Shoppers likely to spend even more cautiously in October in face of inflation and rise in interest rates

High street footfall was 9.5% higher than last year but down from the 13.9% increase seen last month (EPA)

The recovery in shopper numbers continued to slow last month reflecting the difficult economic situation facing UK households, data shows.

Retail data analysts, Springboard, said footfall was up by just 6.8 per cent in September, a smaller increase than the 8.6 per cent and 15.5 per cent uplifts seen in August and July respectively.

Springboard said shoppers would spend even more cautiously in October in the face of inflation and the rise in interest rates.

The company’s marketing and insights director, Diane Wehrle, said: “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.”

High street footfall was 9.5 per cent higher than last year but down from the 13.9 per cent increase seen last month, while retail park visits were just 0.3 per cent higher than last September.

In starker findings, weekday footfall shopping in UK high streets was down by 17.4 per cent on 2019 due to many employees working from home for at least part of the working week.

Ms Wehrle said high streets were facing more complex challenges than inflation alone.

She said: “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.”