Sun fails to shine on our high streets

ACTIVITY on some of Britain’s biggest high streets remained stuck at incredible lows in May, recovering only slightly from the month before.

Footfall dropped by 73.3 per cent in May, leaving it hovering just above April’s unprecedented 80 per cent drop, according to figures from Springboard.

The drop came despite last month being the sunniest May since 1957, which Springboard said boosted turnout on high streets and in retail parks.

However, despite depressing figures, Springboard said that shoppers have huge amounts of pent-up demand. Last Monday queues snaked across Ikea car parks as the furniture giant threw open its doors for the first time after lockdown.

The major supermarkets in retail parks helped them fare much better than the UK’s high streets, losing only 68 per cent of their footfall, compared with 78 per cent on high streets, and 81 per cent in shopping centres.