The Office for National Statistics has updated its real-time economic dashboard for the week to 12 July 2026, showing retail footfall rising 7 per cent compared with the same week in 2025 and potential redundancies falling 21 per cent year-on-year.
The figures show total UK retail footfall rose 1 per cent compared with the previous week and 7 per cent compared with the equivalent week of 2025 — a notably stronger year-on-year position for high streets and retail parks. Separately, Insolvency Service HR1 forms — the notifications employers must file when planning large-scale redundancies — recorded 11 per cent fewer potential job losses in the week to 5 July 2026 than the week before, and 21 per cent fewer than the same week last year.
For Kent households and businesses, the dashboard offers no Kent-specific breakdown, but the national trends feed directly into local conditions. A sustained rise in retail footfall points to consumer activity that town centres in Maidstone, Canterbury, Ashford and Thanet will feel in their own footfall counts. The drop in potential redundancy notifications, if it holds, reduces near-term pressure on Jobcentre Plus services and Kent County Council employment support programmes.
The monthly bulletin published 24 July 2026 — covering June 2026 — adds context that complicates the weekly picture. Retail footfall actually fell 8 per cent in June compared with May 2026, and was down 1 per cent against June 2025. So the July weekly recovery follows a softer month. New vehicle registrations bucked that pattern, rising 4 per cent on May 2026 and 11 per cent on June 2025, according to Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders data cited in the bulletin.
Wholesale energy prices fell in June compared with May, but remained higher than June 2025 — the ONS bulletin does not specify exact percentage changes. That gap matters for Kent manufacturers, farmers and transport operators, who face input costs still elevated against last year’s baseline.
One caution worth keeping in mind: ONS labels these indicators “official statistics in development” and “early experimental data.” They draw on sources including Revolut card spending, Vocalink Direct Debit transaction data, Rightmove property listings and National Gas Transmission energy figures. But because the methods are experimental, ONS says movements should be read as signals rather than definitive measures.
The dashboard format replaced the previous weekly PDF bulletin from 26 March 2026. A monthly statistical bulletin continues alongside it, providing deeper analysis of the same indicators.
Key information
- The ONS real-time indicators dashboard is updated weekly and covers consumer behaviour, business and workforce, energy and housing, and transport
- The accompanying monthly bulletin — most recently dated 24 July 2026 — provides fuller commentary on the dashboard figures
- Users can contact the ONS Real Time Indicators team by email at realtime.indicators@ons.gov.uk for further information or to provide feedback on the dashboard
Source: @ONS