Retail footfall in UK declined by 0.7% in June from a year ago, down on the 0.2% fall in May and below the three-month average of a 0.3% decline.
Footfall was 1.7% down on the high street on the previous year for June, down on May’s fall of 0.9%, according to the latest report released by British Retail Consortium (BRC) and Springboard.
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In shopping centers, footfall was down 1.2% on the previous year while out-of-Town reported the only rise, 2.4% higher than a year ago.
Geographically, all regions and countries with the exception of Greater London (-2.7%) West Midlands (-5.2%), East Midlands (-1.2%) and Wales (-1.4%) reported footfall below the UK average (-0.7%).
British Retail Consortium director general Helen Dickinson said, "At first glance, this month’s figures don’t paint a rosy picture for the retail industry with the headline figure showing footfall shrinking once again."
"However, strong footfall doesn’t always equate to good sales and vice versa. Retailers have seen good sales growth in their online clothing and footwear offer and many are reporting positive results led by their online summer sales.
"The popularity of click-and-collect has helped support footfall in retail parks offering further evidence of the changing shape of how we shop and the increasing complexity of the relationship between digital and physical," Dickinson added.
Springboard Retail Insights director Diane Wehrle said, "June is the sixth month in a row in which activity in retail and shopping parks has increased, and so it appears that the trend for consumers to favour out of town locations over urban shopping environments has established itself as a key feature of 2014."
"In sharp contrast, in both high streets and shopping centres footfall has dropped in all but one month this year, which reinforces the much recognised need for investment in our long established and strategically significant town centre retail locations," Wehrle added.
