Summer holiday season, the Commonwealth Games and a spike in international visitors, saw Scotland achieve the hottest rise in July footfall of all the UK nations.
Scottish footfall enjoyed a jump of 2.7% year on year in July – up from the 1.7% rise recorded in June, latest Scottish Retail Consortium (SRC) -Sensormatic data shows.
Edinburgh led the way, with an increase of 5.7% year on year, helping drive Scotland’s overall performance “and reinforcing the city’s position as one of the UK’s strongest retail destinations,” Andy Sumpter, Head of Consulting & Analytics – EMEA for Sensormatic, said.
Footfall in Glasgow meanwhile rose by 0.5%.
Other UK nations didn’t fare so well over the period, with footfall in England falling by 3% – including a 5.3% decline in London.
“Scotland was the top performing nation in the UK last month as cooler weather made shopping more bearable than further south,” Ewan MacDonald-Russell, Deputy Head of the SRC, added.
“Shopping centres and retail parks both saw over 3% growth across the period, whilst Edinburgh continues to lead the way across the UK with strong footfall from visitors to the city centre.
“Retailers will hope the increased footfall will translate into strong sales.
“So far this has been a summer of recovery after a challenging start to the year. The industry will hope the new administrations in both Westminster and Holyrood do nothing to derail this when both return after the summer recess.”
Andy Sumpter, Head of Consulting & Analytics – EMEA for Sensormatic, added:
“More broadly, five of the first seven months of 2026 have outperformed the same period last year, suggesting a degree of resilience despite the wider challenges facing retail.
“While consumer behaviour remains cautious, July’s result provides further evidence that Scotland is continuing to hold firmer ground than many other parts of the UK as retailers look to convert footfall into meaningful spend.”
