‘Fragile’ high street boost could be dented by cost of living crisis, report warns

Jubilee fervour driving shoppers back to high streets is “fragile” and could be overshadowed by the cost of living crisis, experts have warned.

British Retail Consortium (BRC) figures show footfall in shops inched up 0.6% between April and May – well ahead of Italy, France and Germany – but remains 12.5% down on 2019.

Chief executive Helen Dickinson said the third consecutive monthly rise had been spurred on by platinum jubilee parties.

“The anticipation for the jubilee celebrations offered an added boost to footfall, with the public hitting the shops to find the best decorations and festive food and drink for the long weekend,” she said.

However, she warned this modest increase could be wiped away by rising inflation and falling consumer confidence.

“Improvement to footfall remains fragile as the cost of living bites,” she said. “With UK discretionary incomes falling, government’s financial support to tackle surging energy costs may only provide temporary respite for households.”

Visitors to shopping centres have plummeted by a quarter in the past three years while high street footfall dropped 13.6% – though this is up 3.6% in a month.

Retail parks missed out on a jubilee boost, with numbers dropping 6.3% since 2019 and 2.3% since April.

Retail analyst Springboard said its own figures show footfall across all retail sites increased by 2.3% in the immediate week leading up to the jubilee, and predicted an 8 per cent spike over the holiday period itself.

Diane Wehrle, insights director at Springboard, said: “We are anticipating a boost this week generated by the platinum jubilee bank holiday combined with the England school half-term break. This is likely to be supported by the weather.”