Consumer confidence at new high but no respite for battered high street

But the improvement in consumer confidence could none the less fail to breathe life back into the struggling high street, according to separate figures showing town centre footfall took another hit in July.

The number of shoppers on the high street slid 1.7pc year-on-year in July after an equally sharp drop in June, according to latest figures from Springboard. This was the fourth straight month of declining footfall.

Town centre shopping centres fared slightly better, with footfall dipping 0.5pc in July compared with a 1.2pc slide in June.

Out of town retail, by contrast, saw a 2.3pc increase in shoppers. But this was not enough to offset the declines elsewhere, with total retail footfall recording a 0.6 slump last month.

Despite the bleak figures, retailers are continuing to open new stores, driving the town centre vacancy rate to 10.1pc, its lowest level since Springboard launched the measure in mid-2011.

"July did not herald any good news as the 0.6pc drop in footfall is a stark contrast to the increase of 0.8pc in July 2013," said Diane Wehrle, retail insights director at Springboard.

She added that since many of the new stores in town centres are flexible "pop up" shops and temporary lets, that persistently disappointing footfall could lead to the same shops being left empty again.

"The improvement in vacancy rates indicates a growing flexibility and responsiveness of landlords in the face of tough trading conditions, which has increasingly included the introduction “pop up” shops and temporary lets," she said.

"However, the key issue for town centres in the longer term is the extent to which any temporary let is converted into long term occupation beyond the Summer and into the key Christmas trading period.’’

Helen Dickinson, British Retail Consortium director general, called for an overhaul of commercial property taxes to increase retailers' confidence about investing in new or existing premises.

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