Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Retail group says Holyrood may have to step in to boost shops around Scotland

scottish retail
New figures show Scotland's shops are far from back to normal.

Shopper numbers were still significantly lower in Scotland during July, compared with two years ago, despite an easing of Covid-19 restrictions.

The latest figures from the British Retail Consortium (BRC) show a 27.1% drop in “footfall” north of the border.

Northern Ireland, Wales and England suffered declines of 19.9%, 25.8% and 28.7% as huge numbers of people throughout the UK showed a continued reluctance to venture into town and city centres, or out-of-town retail parks.

Retail is some way from recovering from the effects of Covid.”

Ewan MacDonald-Russell, Scottish Retail Consortium

Total UK footfall decreased by 28% last month, compared with July 2019, reflecting a slight worsening of the three-month average decline of 27.7%.

Footfall on high streets was down by an even steeper 34.6%, with retail parks suffering a 15% drop. Shopping Centre footfall declined by 38.4%.

Ewan MacDonald-Russell, head of policy and external affairs for BRC’s operation representing retailers north of the border, said: “There is little sign Scottish shoppers are returning to retail destinations in the same numbers they did before the pandemic.

“Whilst July saw a small improvement in shopper visits to retail destinations on the previous month, footfall continues to be more than a quarter down on the equivalent month in 2019.

“As we have seen in recent months, out-of-town destinations continue to do best, whilst high streets, and especially shopping centres struggle to attract shoppers.”

Scottish retail
Ewan MacDonald-Russell, head of policy and external affairs, Scottish Retail Consortium.

Mr MacDonald-Russell added: “With most Covid restrictions ending from August 9, retailers will hope there is a late-summer surge to Scotland’s shops.

“If that doesn’t transpire, Scottish ministers should urgently consider what interventions they could make to encourage consumers back to the high street.

“This could be through temporary free parking, an advertising campaign to encourage people back to city centres, or a high street voucher scheme like Northern Ireland is introducing.

“Despite the slight improvement this month, it’s clear retail is some way from recovering from the effects of Covid.”

The July footfall research was carried out in partnership with Sensormatic IQ, part of international smart buildings specialist Johnson Controls.

Europe, Middle East and Africa retail consultant Andy Sumpter, of Sensormatic Solutions, said: “With July’s wet weather dampening shoppers’ spirits, high street footfall stayed subdued as consumers remained cautious.

The Euros effect

“Even the hotly debated ‘Freedom Day’ (in England) failed to significantly shift the dial on shopper counts, perhaps losing some of its ‘shine’ to the Euros, which brought forward shopping and socialising trips to earlier in the month.

“And in a tale of two halves, Freedom Day may have split consumer confidence, with those revelling in newfound freedoms increasing the frequency of their shopping trips, while those concerned about the relaxation of restrictions on social distancing and mask-wearing becoming more inclined to stay away.”


Commercial property: North-east town’s new trade counter units all filled

John Lewis: Former department store could get new lease of life as rooftop restaurant

Exclusive: BHS and indoor market sites taken over by Aberdeen City Council as purchase sealed