Retailers saw a “modest” improvement in shopper footfall last month, though visits were well down on pre-pandemic levels.
Data from the Scottish Retail Consortium (SRC) and Sensormatic IQ showed that Scottish footfall was down by 14.8% in August compared with three years ago, but was 1.7% better than in July this year.
The August figure was worse than the UK average decline of 12.4% on three years ago.
Footfall in shopping centres in Scotland was down by 20.7% in August 2022 compared with 2019, a weakening on the decline of 19.2% in July this year.
The SRC said the figures are compared with pre-pandemic levels in 2019 to enable meaningful comparisons to be made, as, since the pandemic started, much of retail has bounced between being open and closed which has had a significant impact on footfall.
SRC director David Lonsdale said: “August saw a slightly more upbeat set of figures for visits to stores in Scotland and the best performance for four months, with concerns about galloping household energy bills not enough to keep Scots away.
“Buoyed by the return of holidaying, social occasions and tourism, the modest improvement in shopper footfall was felt across most retail destinations and especially in Edinburgh and Glasgow.
“Despite the improvement, visits to stores remain well down on pre-pandemic levels and Scotland continued to lag the 12 other parts of the UK surveyed for a fourth month in a row.
“That’s worrying given inflationary headwinds and the likely impact on consumer sentiment and spending power, more so in the lead-up to what is traditionally the crucial golden trading quarter for the industry in the final months of the year,” he added.
In August, footfall in Glasgow decreased by 11.6% compared to pre-pandemic, while in Edinburgh it was down 11.1%.
Andy Sumpter, retail consultant for Sensormatic Solutions, said: “Despite the heatwave and the ongoing train strikes cooling shopper numbers for periods during the month, August footfall on the whole remained resilient, with performance improving against pre-pandemic levels compared to July, boosted in part by August staycations and rising tourist numbers returning.
“However, whilst the outlook for August remained cheery, retailers will be looking ahead to the autumn - and retail’s golden quarter of Christmas trading - with an air of caution as the cost-of-living crisis continues to play out, and they wait to see what packages of support will be offered to consumers to ease the burden on household budgets once the new prime minister is announced next week.”
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