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UK December footfall down 2.2 percent

By Danielle Wightman-Stone

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Footfall in the UK declined for the ninth consecutive month in December, when it fell 2.2 percent on a year ago, according to the December BRC/Springboard Footfall Monitor.

The decline in December was marginally lower than the 2.1 decline in November, underperforming the three-month average of a 1.6 percent decline.

The high street was the hardest hit seeing a decline of 4 percent in footfall in December, while shopping centres also saw a further drop in footfall, down 2 percent. However, out-of-town retail parks continued to do better with an increase of 2.1 percent year-on-year, slightly up on the 2 percent rise in November.

British Retail Consortium chief executive, Helen Dickinson, said: “Shopper footfall shrivelled once again last month and at a faster rate than compared to the three-month average. Retailers are having to revamp their businesses in order to respond to the profound changes in the way we are all shopping.”

Springboard marketing and insights director, Diane Wehrle added: “The surge in online spending in December clearly impacted heavily on traditional urban retail destinations. The catalyst was the plethora of online discounts on Black Friday which then continued throughout December; resulting in a drop of 4 percent in high street footfall was the most severe since November 2014, and far deeper than the drop of 1.8 percent in December 2014.

“Even shopping centres with their concentration of multiple retailers usually considered to be a safe and reliable option for Christmas shopping – fell victim, with footfall dropping by 2 percent, a greater decline than the modest 0.1 percent fall in December 2014.”

BRC
British Retail Consortium
Footfall
Springboard