UK retail footfall dropped in September, with weekly average traffic 6.9 percent lower than in August.
The month also rounded off Q3, in which footfall fell by 4.1 percent compared to 2016 – this was following a revival in Q2 when the deficit stood at only 1.0 percent.
Ipsos Retail Performance, global retail and footfall consultant, compiled the data for the Retail Traffic Index (RTI), which is collated from the number of individual shoppers entering over 4,000 non-food retail stores across the UK.
The RTI shows that the reduction in shoppers has now grown for the fourth consecutive month, suggesting consumers are becoming more cautious with their disposable income.
Dr Tim Denison, director of retail intelligence, said: “Discretionary spending in stores is the area in which consumers seem to be pulling back. The impending interest rate rise will only make life more turbulent for retailers, as their margins remain under considerable pressure – and it will become increasingly difficult to pass rising costs onto the consumer.
“The key focus in the coming months will continue to be improving efficiency across all parts of the business that can be directly managed and controlled.”
