UK retail visits fall 2.9% as shopping centres lose footfall

Visits to UK retail destinations fell 2.9% year on year in September, according to the British Retail Consortium. The decline deepened from 1.7% in August.

Shopping centres recorded the sharpest deterioration, with footfall down 3.5% after a 0.5% decline in August. The fall at retail parks widened from 1% to 1.7%. High streets improved slightly but remained below last year's levels, recording a 3% decline compared with 3.1% the previous month.

Andy Sumpter, head of analytics at Sensormatic, linked the results to shoppers' concerns about inflation, household spending, fuel costs and the approaching Autumn Budget. He said the September performance could not be explained by weather alone.

BRC chief executive Helen Dickinson urged the government to avoid another increase in business rates, the tax on commercial property. She argued that lower operating costs would allow retailers to invest, restrain prices and support jobs.

Tesco chief executive Ken Murphy has also opposed applying the highest business rates multiplier to retailers. He described the system as unfair and said retailers pay, on average, four times their fair share. That claim reflects the industry representative's assessment.