Black Friday dampens high street footfall in November
New figures have shown that UK retail footfall was 2.1% lower in November compared to the same month last year. This marked a significant decline from the 0.2% fall seen in October.
The data from the British Retail Consortium and Springboard in their monthly footfall monitor reveals that high streets and shopping centres saw further declines in footfall with respective drops of 3.4% and 2.8%.
Meanwhile, footfall in retail park locations increased by 2% year-on-year. This was below October’s high of 2.9%.
Helen Dickinson, BRC chief executive, said: “Shopper footfall wilted once again last month, as consumers shunned high streets and instead sought to take advantage of online ‘Black Friday’ promotions and discounts which often ranged across several days. As a result November was the eighth consecutive month in which shopper footfall declined, and at a faster rate than the three-month average.
“Those retailers with a strong multichannel offer – allowing customers to shop in-store, at home and on the move – will have been well placed to capitalise on this further milestone in the development of our digital economy. Once again retail parks performed well, with high streets and shopping malls lagging behind.”
Footfall in Northern Ireland fell by 7.9% while Scotland saw a drop of 4.2%. Footfall in Wales edged down 1.9%.
Looking at regions across England, only the East Midlands and Greater London reported positive footfall growth in November.
