Shrewsbury's Darwin centre reports 30 per cent rise in shoppers in June during summer sales spike
One of Shropshire's largest shopping centres has reported a rise in footfall during June as tourists and shoppers turned out in force during the heatwave.
In total, more than a million people flocked to Shrewsbury's town centre in June, a rise of 8.5 per cent year-on-year, according to statistics provided by the town's Business Improvement District (BID).
Bosses at the Darwin Centre in Shrewsbury said the number of shoppers rose by 30 per cent in June compared to May's figures, which they said was reflective of "growing consumer confidence".
However the numbers did dip compared to last June.
"Overall the centre is performing steadily and continues to attract strong levels of footfall relative to wider market trends," said a spokesperson.
"We’re also seeing positive engagement from both shoppers and retailers, which is great to see as we move into the summer holidays."
The Darwin Centre and the Telford Centre saw numbers dip slightly for June compared to the previous year, broadly in line with national trends for the month.
But bosses at Telford's main shopping centre said the mall remains on track for an "exceptional year" with footfall remaining up by nearly 3 per cent for the first quarter of 2025.
Last September, the centre reported that almost 15 million people had visited in the previous 12 months.
"Sales for the first half of 2025 have started strongly and continue to be positive month on month, and we anticipate that with new store openings later in the year, 2025 will be an exceptional year for Telford Centre," said a spokesperson for the shopping centre.
"Whilst the extreme weather caused a slight dip in footfall for June, this was reflected nationally.
"However average footfall for the last quarter was up 2.9 per cent on the previous year, against the regional and national benchmarks of 1.9 per cent and 0.9 per cent respectively."
The update came as new figures from government body the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed the total volume of retail sales rose across the country by 0.9 per cent in June, having fallen by 2.8 per cent in May.
The ONS said demand jumped for non-alcoholic and alcoholic drinks in the searing summer temperatures, while motor fuel sales also leapt by the biggest amount for over a year as the country headed out to enjoy the weather.
But while England's hottest June on record meant mainly good news for hospitality businesses, non-food sales rose only slightly, despite department stores and clothing retailers reporting strong trading in the month.
Hannah Finselbach, senior statistician at the ONS, said: "Following a poor May, it was an improved month for retail sales with growth across all main sectors.
"The warm weather in June helped to brighten sales, with supermarket retailers reporting stronger trading and an increase in drink purchases.
"It was also a good month for fuel sales as consumers ventured out and about in the sunshine.
"Looking at broader trends, retail sales are up slightly across the latest quarter, but are down when compared with pre-pandemic levels."
The ONS figures showed petrol and diesel sales jumped by 2.8 per cent during june, which marked the biggest rise in fuel sales since May 2024. Food sales rose 0.7 per cent month-on-month, following a drop of more than 5 per cent in May.
Online retailers also saw solid trade, with sales up 1.7 per cent, the highest since February 2022.
