A loosening of coronavirus restrictions has yet to result in Scottish shoppers returning to city centres, malls and retail parks in significant numbers.
According to new research, customer numbers in July were 27.1 per cent below those of 2019, before the pandemic arrived. That placed Scotland ninth out of the UK nations and English regions.
Northern Ireland was at No 1 with a 19.9 per cent decline, while London, with a 39.9 per cent fall, was last.
Ewan MacDonald-Russell, head of policy and external affairs at the Scottish Retail Consortium, said: “There is little sign Scottish shoppers are returning to retail destinations in the same numbers they did before the pandemic.
“While 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.”
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The consortium hopes that the removal of most Covid restrictions in Scotland from Monday may provide a “late summer surge” of shopping. “If that doesn’t transpire, Scottish ministers should urgently consider what interventions they could make to encourage consumers back to the high street,” MacDonald-Russell said.
“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.”
