Data has shown that UK retail footfall improved to a decline of 39.4% in July as visitor numbers to shopping destinations were boosted by the reopening of cafes and restaurants after lockdown.
According to figures from retail specialist Springboard, the uplift was an improvement of nearly a fifth on June which meant the month ended with the best result since February.
While the number of visitors to retail destinations was boosted by the reopening of hospitality venues, Springboard has warned that all changes that are obvious boosts to footfall have now been implemented. Despite this, bricks-and-mortar destinations are still only attracting six out of every ten shoppers that visited last year.
Footfall is still being constrained by a lack of tourists, people working from home and rising unemployment. Central London, which is more reliant than anywhere else in the UK on an influx of tourists and workers, saw its July footfall remain at 69% lower than in 2019.
