Scottish retailers enjoyed the highest footfall in the UK last month as shoppers visited the high street and out of town retail parks, a report has found.
In September, shopper numbers in Scotland were 2% higher than a year ago, up on the 1.8% rise in August.
Scotland recorded the highest footfall figures of all the regions and countries of the UK, according to the BRC/Springboard Retail Footfall Monitor.
Only one region in England reported footfall above the UK average – South East (1.4%), while shopper numbers in Northern Ireland rose slightly by 0.2%.
Scotland experienced the greatest rise in footfall, reporting a rise of 2.0% on the previous year. Northern Ireland experienced an increase of 0.2% in footfall after a 4.2% rise the previous month, while Wales reported a footfall decline of 1.1%.
David Martin, Head of Policy & External Affairs at the Scottish Retail Consortium (SRC), said: “Following on from a strong set of results in August; shoppers continued to hit Scottish high streets and out of town shopping destinations in even greater numbers throughout September.
“Scotland recorded the highest footfall figures of any area of the UK with out of town retail the standout performer.
“Over the last six months footfall has increased in all but one of those months. This is an encouraging sign that the improvements we have see in both consumer confidence and the wider economy is feeding through to more consumers in store.”
He said that retailers were working hard to attract shoppers, with “almost unprecedented levels of competition keeping prices down”.
But he called on the Scottish Government to reduce business rates in order to that retailers could continue to improve.
“One need only look at the state of our high streets and town centres to see the impact an out-dated and broken system of business rates is having. Fundamental reform of this tax would stimulate investment, drive greater consumer choice and sustain the recovery,” he added.
Across the UK, footfall in September was 0.9% down on a year ago, up on the 1.1% fall in August and in line with the three-month average of a 0.9% decline.
Out-of-Town retail reported the only rise, 0.5% higher than a year ago, while footfall on the high street was down 0.6% on the previous year
Footfall in shopping centres was 2.6% down on the previous year for September, the deepest decline since October 2013.
Diane Wehrle, Retail Insights Director at Springboard, said: ”In the face of a 0.9% drop in footfall across the UK, a rise of 2% in Scotland is positive.
“High streets and out of town locations are the clear winners, whilst shopping centres – which are dominated by fashion retailers – suffered from the unusually warm weather in September and the concomitant impact on fashion sales.
“Whilst out of town locations still recorded a positive result in September – reflecting the positive sales in furniture and household goods – the fact that the increase in footfall is by far the most modest of any month in 2014 suggests this channel has felt the impact of the poor performance in fashion – a strong indicator that their success now also hinges on this sector.”