The sunny bank holiday weekend delivered a boost to some food and general merchandise retailers, but fashion chains suffered as footfall tumbled on the high street.
Garden centre Wyevale found the sunny weather a welcome relief after the deluges earlier in the summer. Chief executive Barry Stevenson said: “We were pleased. It was in line with our expectations and August was a big bounce-back.”
Supermarkets and convenience stores also benefited. Somerfield director of strategy Oliver Meakin said: “We had a strong bank holiday weekend helped by the weather. We saw strong sales on the areas you would expect over the bank holiday weekend, such as beers, wines and spirits and fresh categories.”
A Hamleys spokeswoman said the warm weather had helped drive footfall and sales. “We’re always popular over bank holiday weekends, as we’re a great London attraction. The weather was great and it was clearly a great weekend for families to be out and about in the capital.”
Overall, however, figures from Footfall revealed that the number of visitors to UK high streets dropped 12.7 per cent over the holiday weekend, compared with 2006. Mosaic chairman Derek Lovelock said: “The beautiful weather kept people in their gardens and on the coast enjoying the sunshine this weekend.”
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