Stock Market News
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.
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.
Related share prices |
---|
Stock News headlines are gathered from financial news sources around the web. Views and opinions on each item are from their respective authors and website. They are not opinions of LiveCharts.co.uk
Get a free widget for your website with our latest headlines.
You can now add our live prices and new headlines to your website.The news widget features quotes for Oil prices, spot Gold price and Indices plus a choice of news channel for healines.
Top Shares pages
- Share price quotes
- Share charts
- Share watch list
- Company Results Calendar
- Top Large UK Shares
- UK Market Sectors
- Stock market news
- Company news
- Share tips
- A-Z company search
More share features
POPULAR Share Prices
- Royal Mail share price
- Lloyds share price
- HSBC share price
- Barclays share price
- Prudential share price
- Santander share price
- NEXT share price
- Diageo share price
- BP share price
- Vodafone share price
- British Airways
- Centrica share price
- Tesco share price
- Taylor Wimpey Share Price
- National Grid
- GKP Share Price
- Marks and Spencer
- Rolls Royce
- Rio Tinto
- THG Share Price
- Aviva Share Price
- Boil Share price
- Easyjet Share Price
- Genedrive Share Price
- SSE Share Price
- IAG Share Price
- Boohoo share price
- HE1 share price
- AVCT share price
- BOOM share price