Drop in footfall sees number of shop vacancies increase

Town centres are under pressure to find new ways to boost footfall after figures showed the first increase in shop vacancies since early 2013.

The British Retail Consortium (BRC) said the national town centre vacancy rate was 10.3 per cent in October, an increase from July’s rate of 10.1 per cent.

The deterioration came as footfall on high streets fell by 1.4 per cent on a year earlier, compared with a rise of 1.9 per cent for out-of-town shopping centres. Overall, retail footfall was 0.8 per cent lower. Yorkshire and the North saw footfall drop by 0.6 per cent for the period between August and October on the previous year.

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But there was an increase for just October of 0.5 per cent.

BRC director-general Helen Dickinson said: “Consideration needs to be given to how people want to use their high streets now and in the future. Leisure activities, coffee shops, access to local services and the desire for community engagement will be as important as retail.

“Digital connectivity is vital as the lines between online and bricks-and-mortar retailing become increasingly blurred.”

Ms Dickinson also called for fundamental reform of the business rates system in order to make investment in property improvements attractive again for businesses.

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The report said the rise in the vacancy rate was in part due to pressure on margins, exacerbated by poor sales resulting from the mild weather. It is also likely to be the first evidence of the impact of the large number of retail leases which are due to expire over the period to December 2015.

Diane Wehrle, retail insights director at survey partner Springboard, said: “We need to become accustomed to an increasing vacancy rate over the next year as this accelerates, as this will inevitably offer retailers an opportunity to vacate poorer performing locations.’’

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