My colleague Tom Rees has the full details below:
Visits to high streets and shopping centres bounced back to their highest levels since the pandemic struck in August as drinkers and diners embarked on a bank holiday spending spree.
The staycation boom helped retail footfall pick up in August, improving from minus 24pc compared to 2019 levels in July to minus 19pc – the smallest gap since the Covid crisis.
Springboard’s data revealed footfall was up 18pc compared to 2020 but that a lack of tourists and office workers continues to stifle central London’s recovery. It hailed the improving figures in August as a “turning point for bricks and mortar retail”.
The improving spending signals will boost hopes of households using their £200bn of lockdown savings to strengthen the economy’s recovery.
Britons also shrugged off the disappointing weather to deliver a bank holiday boost to the economy. Barclaycard Payments data suggests spending on both Saturday and Sunday of the bank holiday weekend was the highest since Christmas Eve 2019.
Transactions were up 14pc compared…
