Riots contribute to 4.8% drop in footfall on UK high streets

Shoppers have avoided high streets in recent days after rioting across England and Belfast led to shops being vandalised and looted, hitting footfall for retailers and neighbouring businesses, figures show.

Footfall on UK high streets declined by an average 4.8% between Sunday and Wednesday from the same period the week before, according to the real estate software firm MRI Software. This compares with a smaller fall of 2.7% in all UK retail destinations, including shopping centres and out-of-town retail parks.

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On Wednesday, the number of people on high streets dropped by 7.5% as shoppers were deterred by an expected new wave of rioting and counter-protests planned for the day.

Northern England and Yorkshire felt the impact of the disorder the most, with footfall down by 12.9% between Sunday and Wednesday, and in the West Midlands footfall was down by 10.6% on the previous week.

Shops and other businesses boarded up or closed early on Wednesday amid fears about potential violence after police warned of unrest from more than 100 far right-led rallies across England on Wednesday night. Instead, thousands of counter-protesters took to the streets of Liverpool, Birmingham, Bristol, Brighton and London to protect their communities.

At this time of the year, the number of people visiting the UK’s towns and cities would usually rise as the school summer holidays get under way and families take day trips. However, footfall remains significantly lower both week on week and year on year.

This comes after a strong start to the summer for shops, leisure and hospitality, which have benefited from the Euro 2024 football tournament, Taylor Swift’s Eras tour and the Olympic Games in Paris, which finish on Sunday.

The British Retail Consortium (BRC) held a meeting on Wednesday with about 190 representatives from a range of retailers – small shops, big chains and takeaway food outlets – to discuss the safety of shop staff. Retailers are monitoring the situation in different locations and may close some shops early.

Helen Dickinson, the BRC’s chief executive, said: “Many retail workers have been heading to work fearing their stores and their safety could be compromised by the looting and vandalism that has taken grip in various parts of the country.” She called for the “full force of the law” to be brought to bear on those committing criminal damage and theft against retailers.

Some supermarkets, shoe shops and other retailers have been looted. The Association of British Insurers trade body said on Monday that “insurers appreciate this is an incredibly stressful time and will be on hand to do everything they can to help customers as quickly as possible”.