High Street footfall rises in July, buoyed by hospitality sector

Britain's hospitality sector proved to be vital to the survival of the High Street in July, with footfall rising by a fifth last month.

Overall footfall declined 39.4% in retail destinations across the UK in July, according to data from Springboard, an improvement on June's reading and the best result since February.

Footfall was down 47.2% on the High Street, 42% in shopping centres and 19.9% in retail parks.

The figures were boosted by the reopening of the hospitality sector - which strengthened as much in July as in June, when retail reopened, highlighting the importance of the industry for brick and mortar retailers.

However, July's figures revealed that destinations have still only been attracting six out of the every ten shoppers that they had a year ago, despite all of the key changes recognised as obvious boosts to footfall now being implemented.

The increase in footfall over the coming weeks was also expected to only be gradual.

Springboard's market and insights director Diane Wehrle said: "Whilst July's result is the most positive since the pandemic, it comes with a note of caution.

"With current discussions bubbling over about how we get the schools back in September and expert views that in order to do this sectors of the hospitality sector may need to close, the improvement in footfall over the coming weeks is not likely to be any more than gradual. A further key factor that will inevitably constrain the ongoing recovery of retail, whether it be online or bricks and mortar, is the impending recession which we know is just around the corner."