High streets are facing growing pressures—from out‑of‑town retail and rising costs to the continued shift toward online shopping. These challenges create a demanding trading environment for businesses. To respond effectively, it’s important to understand whether changes in a centre’s performance come from local factors—such as new initiatives or economic shifts—or from wider regional and national trends. Recognising the difference helps businesses and stakeholders make informed decisions and strengthen the long‑term resilience of the high street.
Monthly Performance Report – May 2026
Both nationally and locally, footfall has continued to decline year‑on‑year, reflecting a longer‑term trend that began prior to the pandemic. A number of specific factors further influenced performance during May:
Roadworks: The impact of the Sturry Link Road works and the burst water main at St Peter’s Place appears to have eased, with access to the city improving. There was also a noticeable increase in overseas visitors during the month.
Weather: Canterbury benefited from a prolonged period of warm, dry weather, with Kent experiencing below-average rainfall and above-average temperatures. The warm weather may have encouraged more leisure trips and outdoor activities rather than traditional shopping visits.
Calendar effect: Despite two Bank Holiday weekends and favourable weather, retail sales remained subdued nationally. This suggests that consumer confidence remains fragile, with spending pressures continuing to affect households.
Notes:
- YoY – Year on Year (YoY) is the % change for the month compared to the same month the previous year. All data sets are compared YoY apart from the vacancy rate.
- Sales – Data is collected monthly from businesses and annonymised so we can identify trends over time. The data is compared to the Beauclair Retail Spend Insights report which provides a national perspective on the data.
- Vacancy Rates – Data is collected monthly and captures groundfloor units only within the BID area.
- Premises type – An independent retailer is defined as having less than five branches nationally.
- Footfall – Data is collected on our behalf by MRI Software to track footfall trends in the city centre.
MRI Software Footfall Reports
MRI Software’s strong coverage on town and city centres nationally, together with its coverage oft he UKs regional cities, means that it is able to provide a robust national and regional benchmark of footfall in towns and city centres.
