The British Retail Consortium is launching a new monitor next week to report on how shopper numbers have changed year-on-year, and also reveal shop vacancy rates.
The quarterly Footfall and Vacancies Monitor (FVM) is being produced in collaboration with customer-counting services provider Springboard and the Association of Town Centre Management.

It will monitor approximately 63m footfall counts from 500 different retail locations, breaking down the data by region and between high streets, retail parks and shopping centres.

The first FVM will be released next week, comparing footfall in May, June and July with the same months in 2010. It will also provide vacancy rates for May 2011.

The BRC said the monitor will "fill a key gap in the economic indicators available for assessing the progress of recovery".