British Retail Consortium figures also show that online and high street sales rose at fastest pace since January in four weeks to 30 July
Newly released figures have revealed a sharp increase in Chester city centre footfall during July, with visitor numbers up by 13 per cent year-on-year to 1.8 million.
Data compiled by independent retail analysts Springboard1 on behalf of CH1ChesterBID put Chester’s rise in city visitor numbers firmly ahead of the rest of the UK, which saw a small average footfall increase of 0.3 per cent during the same month when compared to 2015.
Official figures released recently by the British Retail Consortium2 (BRC) also showed that sales across the UK were up during July (by 1.1% on 2015), rising at their fastest pace since January.
Carl Critchlow, BID Manager at CH1ChesterBID, said: “July’s bumper footfall figures for Chester combined with the national spending data from the BRC are welcome news for our city centre economy.
“We enjoyed some sunny weather during July and that often contributes to increased footfall, but we’re delighted that the figures for Chester compare so well against other major city economies in the UK. Initiatives like our ‘Head Out Not Home’ campaign have helped encourage people to visit the city centre with late night shopping, plus the two Dino trails, Chester Fiesta events and many other activities taking place in the city centre proving to be a major draw.
“July was the first full month in a post-Brexit environment too, so we’re really pleased to see that the vote hasn’t had any immediate impact on consumer confidence in Chester. We hope to continue this by working in partnership with the many amazing city centre organisations, businesses and shops that help make our city a destination of choice for millions of people.”
