Britons visiting shops collapse during coronavirus lockdown – BRC/ Shopper Trak survey

According to the latest survey conducted by the British Retail Consortium (BRC) trade body and retail data firm ShopperTrak, the number of British nationals visiting the shops dropped sharply in April, in the face of the coronavirus lockdowns that halted the economic activity in the UK.

Footfall, the number of people visiting stores, dropped 84.7% year-on-year, the survey found.

Helen Dickinson, BRC Chief Executive, said: “Lockdown has dramatically cut footfall traffic across retail locations, with the majority of physical stores closed to the public.”

“The fall has been slightly less dramatic in retail parks where a high proportion of supermarkets and other essential stores have remained open, slightly mitigating the overall reduction in footfall,” she added.

Last Wednesday, the BRC survey showed that UK consumer spending fell by 20% in April, in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic led social and economic lockdown.

Market reaction

GBP/USD is defending minor bids on 1.2100, consolidating the recovery from a two-month low of 1.2076 reached in early Asian trades. The pound was sold-off into comments from the Bank of England (BOE) Chief Economist Andy Haldane.

Haldane said that the central bank could likely examine negative interest rates options among other policy support tools.