Retail footfall down 80 per cent in May amid coronavirus lockdown
Retailers suffered a decline in footfall of more than 80 per cent in May, as the coronavirus lockdown kept consumers at home and shops shuttered across the country.
Footfall plunged 81.6 per cent compared to the same period last year, according to the British Retail Consortium.
This was a shallower decline than in April, however, with the government allowing some shops, such as garden centres, to reopen over the month.
Shopping centres were hardest hit, with an 85 per cent drop, while high street footfall was down 78 per cent.
The figures come as non-essential retailers are allowed to open their doors for the first time since March today.
Helen Dickinson, BRC chief executive, said: “Retailers have been under immense pressure for the past three months but the reopening of non-essential shops from today is unlikely to deliver immediate relief.
“A mix of low consumer confidence and limits on the number of people able to enter stores mean that many shops will continue to suffer lower footfall – and lower sales – for some time to come.
“As they return to serving the country, there is still a risk that many physical shops could end up closing their doors again – only this time, permanently.”
Experts expect that footfall will immediately rise by around 15 to 25 percentage points as shops reopen today, based on what happened in other European countries which eased lockdown earlier.
Andy Sumpter, retail consultant at Shoppertrak, which compiled the figures, said: “In the short term we expect consumers will visit less, but buy more each visit, making each shopper all the more precious. Footfall has a totally new value.”