The Welsh retail sector, from the high street to retail parks, is continuing to be squeezed by concerns over Brexit and the rise of e-commerce, shows latest research.
Figures for July from the Welsh Retail Consortium and consultancy Springboard shows:
- An overall year-on-year footfall decline of 3%, though shallower than the 4.8% dip seen in June.
- A decline of 3% on the high street.
- Retail park footfall decline of 0.5%, the shallowest seen since March.
- Shopping centres saw seeing a decline of 5.4%, the worst of all 海角视频 nations.
- A town centre vacancy rate of 13.4%, although marginally better than April's 13.9%,
Sara Jones, head of policy and external affairs, at the Welsh听Retail听Consortium, said: 鈥淭he small improvement in the number of empty听retail听premises recorded in the last quarter, although welcome, should be treated with caution when assessing the health of the industry in Wales.
"And whilst the continued decline in shopper numbers was not as significant as the previous month,听retailers听will continue to feel the heat as we near the end of the summer
" At a time when the combination of slow real wage growth and Brexit uncertainty has left consumer spending languishing, the latest vacancy and footfall data will do little to instil much needed confidence into our struggling industry.
鈥淭he challenging听retail听environment is taking its toll on many high street brands who must contend with rising import costs, a multitude of public policy costs and with business rates at a ten-year high.听
"A coherent plan for听retail听is needed. 听The Government should freeze business rates before embarking on a wholesale reform of this broken tax system, whilst working with the industry to understand the wider challenges that are on the horizon for听Welsh听retailers."
Diane Wehrle, Singboard's marketing and insights director, said that July was a much more challenging month for high streets and shopping centres in Wales than for its out of town destinations.
She added: "The 2% drop in high street footfall followed a decline of 3.9% in July last year and in shopping centres the drop of听 5.4% followed a drop of 2.4% last year.听
"The exceptional weather in July last year did not deliver a strong comparable in Wales as it did across the 海角视频, and so the continuing declines clearly reflect the ongoing structural change in听retailing.听
"Indeed, the ongoing challenges faced by bricks and mortar destinations is reflected in Wales鈥檚 vacancy rate, which at 13.4% remains higher than the 海角视频 rate of 10.3%.
鈥淐onsumer demand is ever more polarised between convenience and experience, and the stronger performance of Wales鈥檚 out of town destinations where footfall dropped by just听 0.5% in July reflects the fact that听retail听parks are more successfully bridging the convenience-experience gap.听
鈥淭he attraction of听retail听parks was demonstrated clearly in the last week of the month when temperatures reached record levels.听 Indeed, the more positive footfall result for Wales鈥檚 out of town destinations in July, particularly the fact that footfall rose by 0.2% during day time trading hours, demonstrates that if the offer is right consumers will spend.鈥
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