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The average shop vacancy rate in town centres in the UK was 10.3% in October, up from July’s rate of 10.1%, and the first time the figure has risen since the first quarter of 2013.
The British Retail Consortium’s (BRC) Footfall and Vacancies Monitor for October found footfall was 0.8% lower than a year ago but up on the 0.9% fall in September.
Shopping centres reported the largest decline falling 1.9%, consistent with the three month average, while high streets experienced a 1.4% decline in footfall, compared with the 0.6% fall in September.
Footfall in out-of-town locations fared the best with a 1.9% increase year-on-year while Scotland reported the greatest rise in regional footfall, up 0.5% year-on-year.
Helen Dickinson, director general for the BRC, said: “It’s disappointing to see the first increase in shop vacancies since the first quarter of 2013. There had been some hope that the amount of empty shops would dip below the 10% threshold for the first time since we began collecting this data. This has sadly not transpired.”
