2 minute read
Retail Footfall
by 55 North
UK sees encouraging improvement to footfall
Research shows that Northern Ireland saw the strongest recovery of all the UK’s nations in April, while Scotland fell behind.
Total UK footfall decreased by 13% in April compared to pre-pandemic figures, but rose 2.3 percentage points from March, according to BRC-Sensormatic IQ data.
The figures show footfall on high streets declined by 17.2% in April compared to pre-pandemic figures, but was 0.6 percentage points better than March, and improved on the three-month average decline of 18.4%.
Shopping Centre footfall declined by 27.6% in April compared to pre-pandemic figures, 8.2 percentage points better than last month’s rate, and saw an improvement on the three-month average decline of 34.5%.
Northern Ireland made the strongest recovery of all the UK’s nations in April, with a decline of 11.7%. This makes it the best-performing nation during six out of the past seven months.
Scotland fell behind the rest of the UK, with a decline of 14.8% in April, but narrowed the gap by showing the best improvement when compared to last month. England and Wales saw a footfall decline of 12.7% and 18.8%, respectively, in April.
On a total basis, footfall across all cities in the UK was, once again, down on the levels seen pre-pandemic. The best performing city was Manchester, and the worst-performing city was Leeds.
Helen Dickinson, Chief Executive of British Retail Consortium, commented: “While footfall continues to make its return towards pre-pandemic levels, consumer confidence saw a different trend, falling to its lowest levels since the 2008 financial crisis.
“Shoppers are now being forced to make tough decisions in the face of rising inflation and higher energy prices, exacerbated further by the war in Ukraine.
“This threatens to stall improvements to footfall, as consumers reign in their discretionary spending. Retailers will have to work twice as hard to sustain customer loyalty and engagement.”
