Retail footfall dropped sharply in January
New figures have revealed that footfall dropped sharply in the first full month of the UK’s third lockdown.
The data from retail specialist Springboard shows that footfall declined by 65.6% in January compared to a fall of 41.9% in December.
Shopping centres saw the biggest decline at 73.6%. Meanwhile footfall in high streets and retail parks fell by 72.6%. 42.1% respectively.
However, the figures show the overall decline in UK footfall was not as severe as 80.1% drop recorded during the first lockdown in April.
Springboard said the stronger footfall in retail parks demonstrated a degree of lockdown fatigue and pent-up demand for going out shopping.
Diane Wehrle, Springboard marketing and insights director, said: “Shoppers are also clearly visiting retail parks for leisure based trips in the absence of any other opportunity to shop (particularly as drive-thru’s and coffee shops continue to offer take away and click and collect is operating). This is the first indication of the potential for a bounce back in spending when non-essential retailers reopen once again.”
Meanwhile, the UK vacancy rate rose to 11.7% in January, from 11.3% in October 2020 and 9.8% in January 2020.
Photo by Georgia Hawkins
