The cost-of-living crisis is set to cause a drop in footfall in the run-up to Christmas according to retail intelligence firm Springboard.
The company is predicting that footfall across all UK retail destinations will decline on a month-to-month basis by 4.9% in September, 2.5% in October and -0.3% in November.
However, Springboard expects the number of visits to retail locations to increase by 6% from November to December during the key Christmas trading period.
The decreases between September to November, followed by only a modest rise in the final month of the year, will eradicate the gains made over much of 2022. The company said the resulting gap from the 2019 footfall level of -18% in December will be widest since February 2022 when it stood at -20.7%
Factors influencing Springboard’s forecast include consumers’ fears over the impact of October’s expected rise in energy costs and a potential increase in unemployment rates.
