Scottish footfall decreased by 13.4% in September, compared with pre-pandemic levels, but was 1.4 percentage points better than August.
The latest Scottish Retail Consortium (SRC) and Sensormatic IQ data also showed that shopping centre footfall declined by 19.7% last month - which was also an improvement on the 20.7% fall in August.
In September, footfall in Glasgow decreased by 10.4%, which was 1.2 percentage points better than August.
On a year-on-year basis, total Scottish footfall increased by 6.9%, Scottish shopping centres were up by 13.4% and footfall in Glasgow increased by 11.4%.
Ewan MacDonald-Russell, deputy head of the SRC, said: “Scottish footfall continues to remain well below pre-pandemic trading.
“As inflation bites into customer budgets its clear high street retailers are a long way down on 2019 - that’s a huge concern as retailers face into the final so-called golden quarter when Christmas shopping bolsters businesses and as they continue to lean into their own spiralling costs crunch.
“Of deep concern will be whether Scottish Ministers take the same approach as previous years and raise the business rate poundage in line with inflation – if they do that will be a further £60m bombshell for businesses next April.”
Andy Sumpter, retail consultant for Sensormatic Solutions, commented: “While total UK retail saw footfall recovery rise to its highest point this year compared to pre-pandemic levels in September, boosted in part by back-to-school trading at the beginning of the month, retailers won’t be looking at high street performance through rose-tinted glasses.
“With all eyes turning towards the Golden Quarter, perhaps with a starker air of caution given the financial turbulence seen over the last few weeks and higher energy bills starting to hit consumers from October, many are already downgrading Christmas trading forecasts amid shaky consumer confidence.”
Total football by nation and region (% change on 2019)
GROWTH RANK |
NATION AND REGION |
% GROWTH Yo3Y |
1 |
North west England |
-4.7% |
2 |
West Midlands |
-5.2% |
3 |
South west England |
-5.5% |
4 |
Yorkshire and the Humber |
-5.5% |
5 |
East of England |
-6.6% |
6 |
South east England |
-7.5% |
7 |
England |
-7.9% |
8 |
North east England |
-8.2% |
9 |
East Midlands |
-8.3% |
10 |
Wales |
-8.7% |
11 |
London |
-12.5% |
12 |
Northern Ireland |
-13.4% |
13 |
Scotland |
-13.4% |
Separately, new research suggests that click and collect shopping could be worth more than £2.5bn in Scotland this year.
The figure represents around 38.4% of the total retail income in Scotland, according to a report by Barclays Corporate Banking - up from 27.6% a year ago.
It follows the broader UK trend which has seen the click and collect economy grow to be worth more than £42.4bn in 2022, representing 8.4% of the industry’s total income.
But the report also warned business rates, supplier, transport and logistics costs are currently placing the biggest strain on retailers’ profitability.
Consumers north of the border are also looking to cut 26.2% of their retail outgoings in the months ahead as the rising cost of living begins to take hold.
The popularity of click and collect services grew during the pandemic and has continued to do so after lockdown eased, which the study says shows it is a consumer behaviour here to stay.
Despite a rise in online shopping, the report states there is still support for high streets. Around 65% of consumers agreed there is a future for physical retail space and around 86% of retailers in Scotland feel having a physical shop is vital to their business success.
About 14,000 jobs are also dependent on the sector, with over a third of physical shops in Scotland now being used as click and collect locations and four in 10 used to process returns.
Euan Murray, relationship director at Barclays Corporate Banking, said: “Perhaps more than any other sector over the past two years, retail has been forced into a period of accelerated evolution.
“Encouragingly for the UK’s retail sector, however, businesses are adapting their sales models to weather these financial storms as effectively as possible.
“Links between digital and physical shopping are being evolved, which are opening up new opportunities and ways to generate income.”
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