‘Indian summer’ yields mixed blessing for retail

September and its late sunshine had a varied impact on the UK’s beleaguered high streets, according to Springboard’s National High Street Index. While the overall picture was a gloomy one, several regional towns bucked the trend in attracting customers to the high street.

Overall there was a 1.2 percent decrease in footfall on the UK’s high streets across the month – a lower than predicted figure thanks to the unseasonably good weather bringing many more people to the streets.

Several provincial towns were able to buck this downward trend through a combination of events and local incentives. Rotherham saw a rise in footfall of 32.3 percent thanks to a scheme to get residents to shop locally. Mansfield and Grimsby also saw a double digit rise in people using their high streets. In terms of regions, the East Midlands and East of England faired well, both with an increased footfall of around 30 percent.

Footfall measures have become an important gauge of retail activity and the profitability of retail high street property. The rise in people visiting regional and provincial is a positive sign for high streets severely affected by the economic downturn. With the British Council of Shopping Centres estimating retail vacancy rates to be around 11 percent with no foreseeable change, incentives are still needed to fill vacancies created through downsizing and insolvency.