12.03.201806:00:00UTC+00UK Retail Footfall Declines In February: BRC

UK retail footfall declined in February suggesting that fewer number of people visited shops amid high inflation, data from the British Retail Consortium showed Monday.

Footfall decreased 0.5 percent year-on-year in February compared to an increase of 1 percent in the same period of 2017.

Greater London and the South East continue to experience decline of 1.1 percent and 1.0 percent, respectively, in February.

"Footfall continued to fall year-on-year in February across most retail destinations, even before the significant impact of the snow over the last two weeks," Helen Dickinson, BRC chief executive said.

"This was mirrored in relatively flat consumer spending overall, that continues to struggle against the current retail headwinds," Dickinson added.

Looking ahead, Dickinson said there's some hope that shopper activity will pick-up now that inflationary pressure has started to subside and wage growth is expected to move in the right direction.