The number of people shopping across the UK’s High Streets, retail parks, and shopping centres dropped by 1.7 per cent year-on-year in May.

The latest figures from the British Retail Consortium (BRC) and Sensormatic show that footfall was down from a 7.2 per cent increase in April, with a decline across the whole of the UK.

High Street footfall decreased by 2.5 per cent year-on-year, compared to a 5.3 per cent hike in the previous month.

While retail park numbers were 0.2 per cent higher than the same period of last year, they were down from a 7.5 per cent increase in April.

Shopping Centre footfall decreased by 2.3 per cent in May, down from a rise of 5.6 per cent in the previous four weeks.

Overall, footfall decreased across England, Scotland, Northern Ireland, and Wales.

“Despite favourable weather throughout May, footfall took a disappointing turn last month, following a more promising start to the year," said Helen Dickinson, chief executive, BRC. "While stock markets stabilised, higher household bills depressed consumer sentiment and the appetite to visit retail stores.

"Retail Parks performed the best of all locations, though only registering a slight uptick in shopper traffic. There was also positive news in the North West, as Manchester’s string of summer activities solidified its position as one of the top-performing English cities."

Andy Sumpter, retail consultant EMEA at Sensormatic said that it was encouraging to see that consumer sentiment has show signs of improvement, with more shoppers feeling optimistic about their personal finances and the wider economy.

"Notwithstanding ongoing cost pressures, retailers will be looking to make hay while the sun shines—focusing on the right mix of experience, value, and convenience to convert seasonal footfall into sustained growth," he continued.

In April, figures from MRI Software showed that retail footfall in the week leading up to Easter jumped by nearly 12 per cent compared to the same period of 2024.

High Streets saw the largest rise in comparison to last year at 15.7 per cent, followed by retail parks increasing by 8.1 per cent, and shopping centres with a 7.1 per cent hike.

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