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The UK witnessed the second-largest drop in retail footfall since May 2020 last month, with figures falling 73.5%.
According to the BRC, the drop represented only a 3.4% percentage point improvement from January.
The figures come from the latest ShopperTrak analysis, which has recently joined retail solutions company, Sensormatic Solutions. As a result the footfall monitor’s name has changed to Sensormatic IQ.
Helen Dickson, chief executive of the BRC said that shopping centres “continued to suffer the most due to their high proportion of “non-essential” retailing”, whereas retail parks “benefitted from the presence of large essential retailers such as supermarkets and health stores”.
She said: “Retailers welcomed the chancellor’s extension of key business funding schemes in Wednesday’s Budget. Nonetheless, the real challenge will arise in April, as tens of thousands of “non-essential” retailers hold their breath to see if demand returns to stores.
“Despite the support offered by the chancellor, the retail industry is not out of the woods yet. In order to support a much needed recovery in the industry and the three million jobs it supports, the Government must ensure the UK’s state aid rules allow businesses to fully access the grants and loans that have been announced.”
