Bank Holiday sunshine dampens retail footfall

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High street retailers suffered another blow as soaring temperatures over the May bank holidays failed to tempt people into the shops, new figures from Ipsos Retail Performance have revealed.

The number of people visiting non-food stores plunged by -8.6% in May, compared to the same period last year, while monthly footfall was also down -1.4% on April.

Retailers experienced a dramatic year-on-year decrease over the early May bank holiday weekend, with those in the South faring worst at -30%. By the late May bank holiday, however, only two regions saw footfall drop into double figures, Scotland & Northern Ireland (-16.5%) and Wales (-10%).

Ipsos Retail Performance, the global retail and footfall consultant, compiles the Retail Traffic Index (RTI), which is derived from the number of individual shoppers entering over 4,000 non-food retail stores across the UK.

South East England & London saw the biggest year-on-year drop in footfall in May at -13%, followed by the Midlands -9.3% and Scotland and Northern Ireland -7.9%. Two regions saw footfall fare better in May than in April, with the North and South East England & London experiencing modest increases of +1.6% and +0.2% respectively.

Footfall change: May 2018 vs May 2017

Scotland & Northern Ireland -7.9%
North of England -4.5%
The Midlands -9.3%
South West England & Wales -5.5%
South East England & London -13.3%

Footfall change: May 2018 vs April 2018

Scotland & Northern Ireland -2.0%
North of England +1.6%
The Midlands -2.9%
South West England & Wales -5.8%
South East England & London +0.2%

May Day Bank Holiday (4th – 6th May 2018 vs 29th April – 1st May 2017)

UK -26.1%
East Midlands -23.2%
Eastern -29.3%
London -22.4%
North East -26.7%
North West -26.5%
Scotland & Northern Ireland -18.3%
South East -30.2%
South West -29.2%
Wales -29.4%
West Midlands -28.1%
Yorks & Humbs -28.5%

Late May Bank Holiday Weekend Analysis (25th – 27th May 2018 vs 27th to 29th May 2017)

UK -8.1%
East Midlands -5.2%
Eastern -7.2%
London -6.3%
North East -8.8%
North West -9.1%
Scotland & Northern Ireland -16.5%
South East -8.6%
South West -9.0%
Wales -10.0%
West Midlands -3.1%
Yorks & Humbs -5.8%