Heavy rain hits April’s UK retail sales

The number of shoppers in town centres, where more than one in ten premises lie empty, fell 12.6 per cent last month compared with April 2011, according to data from retail specialist Springboard.

April’s adverse weather exacerbated an already slow three months from February, which saw an overall decline in visitors to the high street of 6.4 per cent.

The effect of the heavy rain was evident from the rise in shopper numbers at indoor shopping centres last month compared with the double-digit decline seen in a town centres.

But out-of-town stores and shopping centres also saw weaker footfall compared with last year, with a 2 per cent slump in shopper numbers overall between February and April.

Scottish shops had the worst fall in visitors at 12.6 per cent while Wales was the only region to see a lift in footfall at 0.6 per cent.

Stephen Robertson, British Retail Consortium director general, said: “Essentially consumers lack confidence, disposable incomes are still dropping and fewer people are shopping for anything that isn’t essential.

“Inflation’s downward trajectory moves us closer to the real incomes growth that will get people shopping again, but a fundamental turnaround is some way off.”

Despite this bleak picture for retail, hopes for a boost during the long Diamond Jubilee weekend provide a much-needed “silver lining”, said Springboard’s research Diane Wehrle.

In March, it emerged that the government accepted ‘virtually all’ the recommendations set out by retail guru Mary Portas to revive Britain’s high streets.

Ms Portas set out 28 recommendations in her December review commissioned by Prime Minister David Cameron which warned that high streets could “disappear forever” without urgent action.

The government said it was accepting “the vast majority” of the report’s recommendations and “intended to go further” by offering extra funding and slashing bureaucracy.