ATCM - Springboard
National High Street Index

July 2009 Commentary
 

Footfall in the UK's high streets continued to remain depressed in July, with an annual decrease of 7.3% from July 2008, following on from an annual decrease in footfall of a similar magnitude in June (7.7%). It is clear that there are significant pressures on our high streets in terms of attracting customers - in four of the seven months to July, footfall in town centres declined by more than 7% annually, and footfall performance for the year to date in 2009
(-4.9%) has been the worst for three years.

Whilst the recession is inevitably part of the pressure being faced by town centres, it is also likely that the increasing success of alternative channels for consumer retail spending plays a significant role.
 

Springboard's Retail Park Index¹, which tracks customer flows at out of town retail locations, has reported accelerating annual increases in every month during 2009, resulting in an average increase in activity for the year to date of +5%(compared with an average annual decline in town centre footfall for the year to date of 4.9%).

And non-store sales - transactions made via the internet, mail order or telesales - have also seen significant increases during 2009. Although this channel still accounts for less than 4% of total retail spending (according to the Office for National Statistics), the BRC has reported annual increases of between 7% and 20% in each month of 2009, with an average year on year increase for the year to date of 14.2%.

All Towns and Cities

Regional Cities

Jul 08 to Jul 09

-7.3%

Jul 08 to Jul 09

-5.9%

Jun 08 to Jun 09

-7.7%

Jun 08 to Jun 09

-12.1%

May 08 to May 09

-4.3%

May 08 to May 09

-10.5%

Jun to Jul 09

4.8%

Jun to Jul 09

7.6%

Jun to Jul 086.1%

Jun to Jul 08

5.8%

May to Jun 09

0.8%

May to Jun 09

2.5%

May to Jun 08

4.8%

May to Jun 08

4.0%

Apr to May 09

-2.7%

Apr to May 09

-14.3%

Apr to May 08

4.7%

Apr to May 08

0.5%