Retailers suffer ‘sharp decline’ in footfall

Retail footfall took a dive in September as shoppers stayed away from shopping centres, prompting calls for the Chancellor to slash taxes for high street firms. In September, the UK’s total retail footfall fell by 2.9 per cent, far worse than the 1.7 per cent decline recorded in the month prior, according to the British Retail Consortium (BRC). The trade body said the rising tax burden facing retailers means they cannot invest to boost footfall, adding that businesses are “fighting with one hand tied behind their backs”. The headline decline in footfall was driven down by a 3.5 per cent drop in footfall at shopping centres, which had fallen by only 0.5 per cent in August. The slowdown in footfall at retail parks worsened from one per cent in August to 1.7 per cent last month, as high street footfall marginally improved from a decline of 3.1 to three per cent. The BRC said retailers were expecting a seasonal slowdown in shopping trips as the summer’s warm weather faded, b