October saw shoppers return to the high street

Springboard’s October footfall insights show shoppers returned to the high street in a month that was buoyed by school half term holidays.

Compared to 2019, footfall levels were down 9.8 percent, versus 12.6 percent in September and 7.8 percent higher than in 2021. It is also the first time that the gap from 2019 has been less than -10 percent which is a positive sign in what is clearly a challenging economic environment for retailing.

Springboard’s town centre sales tracker recorded a rise in spending in bricks and mortar stores of just +1.8% in October, which is significantly below the current rate of inflation of 10.1% indicating that consumers are buying fewer products.

The political uncertainty in October clearly had huge implications for consumer confidence, which is now at an all-time low. Some political stability has been regained, however, the Autumn statement on 17th November is likely to suppress consumer confidence and therefore footfall further.

Recently released ONS spending data shows that consumers have cut back on spending, and Springboard’s town centre sales tracker recorded a rise in spending in bricks and mortar stores of just +1.8 percent in October, which is significantly below the current rate of inflation of 10.1 percent indicating that consumers are buying fewer products.

An uncertain outlook

October was a nightmare month for British politics, and the uncertainty clearly had huge implications for consumer confidence which is now at an all-time low. Whilst it appears that some political stability has been regained, the Autumn statement on 17th November and the soundings about impending tax rises and spending cuts, combined with rumours about energy black outs over the winter, will undoubtedly suppress consumer confidence and therefore footfall further.

Article source: Springboard October 2022 tracker and insights