Shopper numbers fall gain in April - BRC

Retail numbers in UK shops have fallen by an "unprecedented" 4.8% over the past two months, according to a key industry survey.

Shopper footfall decreased 3.3% in April, following a 6% decline in March, the British Retail Consortium (BRC) and Springboard found.

Tighter belts from households amid the ongoing negative real incomes and changing consumer behaviour has resulted in 9.2% of town centre shops standing vacant in April, the survey found, up from 8.9% in January. Greater London bucked the trend, as its vacancy rate improved to 3.6% from 5.6%.

Helen Dickinson, chief executive of the BRC, said the wet start to April had a dampening effect on shop visits across the UK, exacerbated by changing consumer behaviour.

"That shift in the way we shop, coupled with a highly challenging business environment, is having a significant impact on the nation’s high streets: in April nearly 1 in 10 shops in town centres was vacant."

An inquiry was launched earlier this month by parliament’s housing, communities and local government (HCLG) committee into the future of the country’s high streets and town centres.

Dickinson called on policy-makers to help support the retail industry and "the re-making of our high streets" through new policies to allows retailers to adapt to the internet-driven structural shift.