Buoyed by Black Friday and Christmas shopping, retail footfall in the UK picked up in November after a difficult few months for the sector.
Latest analysis by BRC and Sensormatic IQ shows that for the four weeks to 25 November, footfall only fell 0.7% year-on-year, a significant improvement on the 5.7% decline recorded in October.
High street footfall was down 1.7% in November, but better than the 4.6% slide in October. Meanwhile, footfall in retail parks decreased by 1%, compared to a 4.3% decline the previous month. In shopping centres, footfall was down 2.2%, an improvement on the 7.3% fall in October.
“A slight uptick in consumer confidence, as well as easing inflationary pressures and more predictable weather, led to an improvement in footfall compared to the previous month,” said BRC Chief Executive Helen Dickinson. She noted that month-long Black Friday discounts helped attract shoppers to towns and city centres.
However, Dickinson warned that “extensive” cost pressures on the retail industry over the past two years had limited investment and driven up prices at many shopping destinations.
She added: “The Chancellor’s failure to commit to a business rates freeze in his recent Autumn Statement will inflict hundreds of millions of pounds in additional costs. This will inevitably slow the decline in inflation, as well as limiting long term investment and limiting any upside from improvements in UK footfall.”
Meanwhile, Andy Sumpter, retail consultant EMEA for Sensormatic Solutions, commented: “Last month, footfall recovered to its highest performance levels since July. However, it’s worth noting that, while welcome, this recent boost to retailers has been driven by price and promotions-sensitive shopping behaviours.
“Undoubtedly, footfall’s recovery in November will allow retailers to look ahead to Christmas trading with more confidence, but the challenge will be not just encouraging ongoing spend into December when disposable incomes remain squeezed, but also ensuring discounting is optimised to protect margin.”
NAM Implications:
- Patently a need for holding business rates stable…
- …in order to maintain a little momentum in this apparent recovery.
- When every little would help…
- Fingers crossed that the government will see the vote-catching potential of a healthier high street.
