A new study has shown that the number of shoppers visiting high streets, retail parks and shopping centres has fallen by 10% in the last seven years.
Shopping centres suffered the largest loss of customers last month, with 3.2% fewer visitors than a year earlier, while high streets stores registered a 1.8% drop. Retail parks were the only shopping facility to enjoy an increase, with footfall inching up by 0.1%t.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The Guardian says “bricks and mortar retailers have continued to struggle as consumers shift towards online shopping,” and “the rising costs of running physical stores, including rent, wages and business rates puts additional pressure” on retailers.
The Retail Gazette notes that Debenhams and Marks & Spencer are among the chains to have recently announced store closure plans. However, The Independent reports that music retailer HMV “bucked the trend towards online shopping and away from the high street”, opening a new store in Birmingham last week. However, t.
Looking at the seven-year trend, BRC chief executive Helen Dickinson said confusion over the withdrawal from the European Union had exacerbated the decline of the high street, saying: “With Brexit looming, many consumers are holding off from all but essential purchases.”
She called on the government to “make sure they take no-deal off the table, while also addressing the public policy costs such as business rates, that prevent shops from investing in their retail offering.”
–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––For a round-up of the most important business stories and tips for the week’s best shares - try The Week magazine. Get your first six issues for £6–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
-
Court says labor board's structure unconstitutionalSpeed Read The ruling has broad implications for labor rights enforcement in Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi
-
Feds seek harsh charges in DC arrests, except for riflesSpeed Read The DOJ said 465 arrests had been made in D.C. since Trump federalized law enforcement there two weeks ago
-
August 20 editorial cartoonsCartoons Wednesday's political cartoons include NATO leadership, Putin's views on mail-in voting, and Donald Trump's National Guard deployments
-
Labour shortages: the ‘most urgent problem’ facing the UK economy right nowSpeed Read Britain is currently in the grip of an ‘employment crisis’
-
Will the energy war hurt Europe more than Russia?Speed Read European Commission proposes a total ban on Russian oil
-
Will Elon Musk manage to take over Twitter?Speed Read The world’s richest man has launched a hostile takeover bid worth $43bn
-
Shoppers urged not to buy into dodgy Black Friday dealsSpeed Read Consumer watchdog says better prices can be had on most of the so-called bargain offers
-
Ryanair: readying for departure from LondonSpeed Read Plans to delist Ryanair from the London Stock Exchange could spell ‘another blow’ to the ‘dwindling’ London market
-
Out of fashion: Asos ‘curse’ has struck againSpeed Read Share price tumbles following the departure of CEO Nick Beighton
-
Universal Music’s blockbuster listing: don’t stop me now…Speed Read Investors are betting heavily that the ‘boom in music streaming’, which has transformed Universal’s fortunes, ‘still has a long way to go’
-
EasyJet/Wizz: battle for air supremacySpeed Read ‘Wizz’s cheeky takeover bid will have come as a blow to the corporate ego’
