Retail footfall drops again in February
UK retail footfall dropped by 2% last month to mark the weakest February in five years and a 15th consecutive month of decline.
Figures from the British Retail Consortium and Springboard’s monthly footfall monitor reveal that Northern Ireland was the only area to see an increase in the month with footfall edging up 0.2%. All other regions experienced a decline. The South West and the East were among the weakest performing regions with drops of 3.5% and 3.4% respectively.
Helen Dickinson, BRC chief executive, said: “These figures echo the month’s poor retail sales figures, which saw weak growth, particularly in bricks-and-mortar stores. While real incomes have been rising over the last year, the uncertainty surrounding Brexit appears to be driving a needs-not-wants approach top shopping.”
Footfall in high streets was down 1.9% while footfall in shopping centres fell by 3.4%.
Meanwhile, footfall in retail park locations edged down 0.8% although Wales and the East Midlands regions saw growth in these locations of 1.4% and 3% respectively.
