SCOTLAND’S shops saw footfall rise in July after more than a year of declining customers.
Retailers outperformed the UK as a whole to record a 0.5% increase last month.
Scotland was one of only two regions to experience growth in July, with average UK footfall down 0.8%.
The high street was responsible for the growth as footfall dropped across retail parks and shopping centres, according to the latest figures from the Scottish Retail Consortium (SRC)/Springboard.
Ewan MacDonald-Russell, SRC head of policy and external affairs, said: “Scotland’s shops finally saw customer footfall rise after over a year of decline.
“This welcome increase was driven by a jump in shoppers visiting the high street and is a positive sign after a difficult winter.”
Earlier this year, research by PwC revealed that throughout 2017 Scotland was losing retail outlets faster than any other part of the country.
The closures appear to have slowed down, as the nation’s town centre vacancy rate dropped from 11.2% in April to 10.8% in July – but the figures remain above the UK average of 9.2%.
Diane Wehrle, marketing and insights director at Springboard, said the reduction “may be accounted for by temporary lets over the summer taking advantage of space released from stores that have ceased trading.”
MacDonald-Russell added that the “structural challenges” facing the industry still remain.
He said: “Consumers continue to choose to shop online and it’s clear for many bricks-and-mortar retailers the best approach is to continue to invest in multi-channel operations.
“That process would be eased if government, at both Holyrood and Westminster, would look to reduce the burdens currently hampering the industry.”
In recent months, several major high street brands have announced store closures across Scotland, citing the rise of online shopping and increasing rent costs.
These have included House of Fraser, which Mike Ashley's Sports Direct bought on Friday in a £90 million rescue deal.
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here