Retailers had little to cheer about last weekend as the August national holiday failed to deliver hordes of shoppers, new figures suggest.
Data, released by Experian, shows there was a 4.1% drop in footfall when compared to August Bank Holiday 2005.
Sales on Saturday and Sunday were particularly dismal, in terms of shop visits, with both days falling 6.1% and 6.5% respectively from last year.
The only saving grace of the weekend was Monday when visits to shops rose slightly by 0.4%.
Natasha Burton, spokesperson for FootFall, who provide pedestrian counting systems, said the figures were surprising as shop visits have been rising consistently over the past few weeks.
Burton speculates that the Bank of England’s surprise decision to raise interest rates to 4.75% could be a part of the reason, as consumers choose to curb their spending.
She said: “The low turnout over the weekend is particularly surprising as the weather continued to be changeable, which would normally inspire consumers to go shopping and make the most of indoor areas such as department stores and shopping centres.
“Annual trends show that week 34, culminating in the Bank Holiday weekend, is traditionally the second peak of the summer and the last big push for the retail sector before the Autumn half-term holidays and the Christmas build-up.
“Retailers will have been looking forward to capitalising on increased trade, with many using promotional activity to help boost their performance, so the weekend will have been disappointing.
“It could be that the after effects of the surprise decision to raise interest rates to 4.75% earlier in the month are now being felt.”
© Crimson Business Ltd 2006
