Customer visits on the up
School holidays and a respite from the hot weather have been credited for an increase in customer visits for the last week in July, but figures are still down on last year.

Footfall said that shopper numbers were up 6.4 per cent for the week ending July 30, compared with the previous week. Department stores fared best, with an 11.3 per cent increase in footfall.

Customer visits as a whole fell 5.7 per cent from the same week last year. Even in department stores, the number of visits dropped 3.7 per cent.

Footfall concluded that the World Cup and annual July Sales have done little to bolster consumer spending, but predicted that retailers should see an upturn in customer numbers as the school holidays roll on.