Footfall fell again in May, though far less sharply than the month before, as consumer confidence climbed to its highest level in years despite the lingering shadow of the Iran conflict.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Britain’s shops drew more visitors in May than they had a month earlier, a modest sign of life after a difficult spring, and yet the recovery never quite arrived. A spell of record-breaking heat <\/strong>in the final week of the month kept many would-be shoppers at home, leaving overall footfall lower than it had been a year ago.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The figures matter because retailers have spent recent months absorbing the fallout of the conflict involving Iran, which has pushed up fuel and energy costs and left households uneasy. May’s numbers, watched closely as a gauge of how consumers <\/strong>are coping, suggest the economy may be holding up rather better than many had feared at the start of the year. Whether that holds is another question entirely.<\/p>\n\n\n\n According to the British Retail Consortium (BRC) and Sensormatic, total UK footfall fell 2.6 per cent year-on-year in May. That was a marked improvement on April, when footfall had slumped by 10.7 per cent. Shopping centres took the heaviest knock, down 2.4 per cent, while high streets proved the most resilient of the lot, slipping by just 1.5 per cent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The weather, it seems, cut both ways. Warm conditions early in the month tempted people out of doors, but the intense heat that followed had rather the opposite effect. Helen Dickinson<\/a>, the BRC’s chief executive, said the record temperatures at the end of May resulted in a sharp decline in footfall, particularly at shopping centres and retail parks. High streets bucked the trend, she added, as those who were already out and about took the chance to pop into their local stores.<\/p>\n\n\n\n There were brighter signals on spending, mind you. The accountancy firm BDO reported that total high street sales grew 3.4 per cent compared with the same month in 2025, according to The Guardian, a reminder that fewer visits did not necessarily translate into lighter tills.<\/p>\n\n\n\nA Recovery Undone by the Weather<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n