Too hot to shop

It's bad enough coping with soaring temperatures on London Transport, but for most commuters this comes as expected. The continued spell of hot weather is setting retailers temperatures soaring, with the number of shoppers visiting the high street falling for the second week in a row.

Figures released today by Footfall suggest that consumers continue to spend their spare time enjoying leisure activities with friends and family rather than spending money in the shops, with a 0.9% drop week-on-week and a year-on-year fall of 5%, which brings levels below 2005 for the first time in July.

Natasha Burton from Footfall comments: "The ongoing hot weather spell continues to impact the number of people out shopping during the week. For example, Wednesday 19th July, which proved to be the hottest July day since records began - saw footfall down 7.3% compared with a year earlier. Even the sudden outbreak of storms and the start of some high profile sales this weekend failed to lift numbers.

"The department store sector has also performed disappointingly. It fell over 5% both week-on-week and compared to 2005. However, this sector tends to fare well during the holiday period when it acts as a one-stop shop for consumers holiday needs, so this week may well prove the lull before the storm, with footfall levels expected to climb in the coming weeks as the school holidays begin."