Brits splash cash at the weekend as number of high street shoppers up 6.8 per cent – but it’s STILL below pre-Covid levels
Weekend shoppers have driven a rise in high street customers, but numbers remain below pre-pandemic levels according to a UK retail group.
The total number of shoppers rose by 6.8 per cent in March, according to the latest data from the British Retail Consortium (BRC).
Weekends saw a 9.7 per cent rise on the previous year – compared with a 5.4% rise on weekdays – with Sundays leading the way with a 10.6 per cent rise.
BRC chief executive Helen Dickinson said workers’ return to the office during the week had “caused many to refocus their shopping trips back to the weekend”.
She said: “In this challenging economic environment, retailers remain committed to keeping costs low for consumers, including expanding value ranges and offering discounts to vulnerable groups.
“Government should ease the regulatory burdens that hinder industry investment into lower prices.”
Despite the rise in shopper numbers, the increase fell below that of February and the average for the previous three months.
And total footfall remains 10.2 per cent down on March 2019 before the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.
Retail consultant Andy Sumpter, of Sensormatic Solution who helped compile the data, said the rise on last year’s figures was “no small feat given the backdrop of ongoing cost-of-living pressures, stubbornly high inflation and strike disruptions”.
Press Association reporters