Low consumer confidence ahead of the upcoming Budget next month is driving shoppers away from retail locations, the British Retail Consortium (BRC) has warned.
Total UK footfall fell 1.8% year on year in September, down from a 0.4% dip the month before, according to the latest data from the BRC-Sensormatic footfall monitor.
For the first time since June, all three retail destinations recorded year-on-year declines in shopper traffic. High streets were the hardest hit, with shopper numbers down 2.5% last month compared to a 1.1% rise in August.
Shopping centre footfall declined 2% in September, while retail parks experienced a 0.8% dip.
Across all four nations, footfall dropped year on year. England, Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Wales saw a fall of 1.8%, 0.5%, 2.3% and 2.5% respectively.
BRC chief executive Helen Dickinson said: “Low consumer confidence ahead of a potential tax-rising Budget kept many shoppers away from retail locations in September. Tube strikes in London, heavy rainfall in the first half of September and Storm Amy towards the end of the month exacerbated the decline.
“While August saw stronger growth in high street footfall, September saw high streets back as the weakest performer across all retail locations. Retailers’ ability to invest in local communities and high streets has been hampered by last year’s Budget, which added £5bn in employment costs to the industry, in addition to a new packaging tax.
“For retailers to invest in shopping destinations that will entice shoppers back, the government-imposed cost burdens holding back that investment must be lifted. The upcoming Budget is the moment for the chancellor to do just that, deliver the Labour manifesto commitment of a meaningful reduction in business rates for the industry, and ensure no shop pays more in the process.”
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