Retail experts Springboard revealed on Thursday that the gap in footfall narrowed to 9.8% in October when compared to 2019, down from 12.6% in September.
Springboard said retailers were boosted by a strong performance during the school half term when footfall was up 8% week-on-week.
The uplift in footfall from 2021 diminished for a third straight month to just 5.2%, dropping from 15.6% in July, while footfall in high streets was 7.8% higher than at the same time in 2021.
Springboard’s Dianne Wehrle said: “Despite the growing cost of living crisis, the gap in footfall from 2019 across UK retail destinations continued to narrow in October to -9.8%. This is the first time that the gap from 2019 has been less than -10% which is a positive sign in what is clearly a challenging economic environment for retailing.
However, Wehrle added that whilst it appears that some political stability in the UK has been regained, the Autumn statement on November 17 and word of impending tax rises and spending cuts, combined with rumours about energy blackouts over the winter, will “undoubtedly suppress consumer confidence” and footfall even further going forward.
Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com
