Scottish footfall fell by 29.5% in June, a 4.8% drop from May, according to the latest Scottish Retail Consortium (SRC) and Sensormatic IQ data.
This is below the UK average decline of 27.6% and meant Scotland saw the steepest decline in footfall out of all UK nations.
Shopping centre footfall declined by 34.1% in June, down from a 33% drop in May.
Footfall in Glasgow decreased by 30.3%, a 7.2% decline from May.
To make meaningful comparisons to changes in footfall, all 2021 figures are compared with the pre-pandemic 2019 statistics.
Ewan MacDonald-Russell, head of policy and external affairs at the SRC, said that the figures illustrate just how far the retail industry is from recovering from the coronavirus crisis.
“While stores can trade, the restrictions on hospitality and office working continue to impact on visits to the high street.
“Operating stores itself remains challenging with capacity limits due to caps on the number of customers due to physical distancing rules – there is a growing need for policy makers to consider how best to reignite consumer confidence.”
Andy Sumpter, retail consultant at Sensormatic Solutions, commented: “With most restrictions expected to be lifted on the 19 July, we can finally hope to see what the somewhat over-referenced new normal may actually look like.
“As more people start to venture back to their offices, the much-missed commuter business will be a welcome return.
“Retailers will also be hoping their customers have missed browsing without restrictions, as much as they have missed their customers.”
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