Weather bomb impacts retail footfall
Despite the close approach of Christmas UK footfall dropped by 2.2% year-on-year last week across high streets, retail parks and shopping centres.
Figures released by retail intelligence specialist Springboard show that high streets and shopping centres saw footfall declines of 3.6% and 2.5% respectively despite the heavy discounts offered in stores.
Meanwhile, footfall in retail parks increased by 1.6% as trade was boosted by the growing popularity of click and collect.
The figures show that the weather bomb that hit the north of the country towards the end of last week might also have had an effect, as footfall dropped by 6.6% from 9 to 12 December in Scotland. Northern Ireland was hit even harder with footfall declining by 9.1% in the period.
Diane Wehrle, insights director at Springboard, said: “Figures overall are surprisingly low considering the proximity of Christmas, and last week’s news of the widespread misery in online delivery delays suggests how online shopping has been the big winner, not just through click and collect.
“The sale storm on Black Friday may also have delayed full footfall impact, however as discounts at retail destinations get deeper over the final week before Christmas, it is likely that we will see a last minute rush on the high streets.”
