Retail footfall in December drops 2.6 percent

Footfall figures for December 2018 released by British Retail Consortium and Springboard has revealed a drop of 2.6 percent, marking a thirteenth consecutive month of decline, however, it did mark a lesser decline when compared to 2017, where footfall fell sharply by 3.5 percent.

The high street saw its footfall decline by 2.1 percent, a lesser decline compared to the previous year when it fell by 4.6 percent, while retail parks also saw a drop of 2.1 percent, below November’s rate of 1.8 percent. This marks the sharpest fall for retail parks since April 2018 when it fell by 1.8 percent and below the three-month average decline of 1.3 percent.

Shopping centres suffered a 3.9 percent drop in visitor numbers. This was broadly in line with November’s decline of 3.8 percent and below the three-month average of 3.7 percent, however, it did mean that the mall sector reach 21 consecutive months of declines.

Diane Wehrle, Springboard marketing and insights director, said in a statement: “The 2.6 percent decline in footfall in December 2018 the ninth in ten years, and the seventh consecutive year of decline - is undeniably strong evidence that retailers can no longer rely on Christmas trading to redeem revenue lost earlier in the year.

“Indeed, over the past seven years the shift in footfall away from December has been so significant that the gap between both December and July and between December and November in terms of footfall volumes has halved over the past seven years.”

Footfall drops for 13th straight month in December 2018

In terms of footfall across the regions, the South West saw the biggest decline of 5.7 percent, followed by the East with a drop of 4.4 percent, and the East Midlands, which experienced a fall of 3.8 percent. The best performing region was Northern Ireland with a 2.2 percent increase on last year, marking its third consecutive month of growth, followed by Greater London, which recorded a drop of just 1.6 percent, less than the weighted UK average decline of 2.6 percent.

Wehrle added: “If nothing else is learnt from December 2018, it is that discounting does not stimulate customer activity, and is severely eroding the strength of Christmas as a major trading period. Ignoring the warning signs and continuing to bring sales forward undermines profitability and, ultimately, longer term innovation in retailing.”

Helen Dickinson, chief executive of the British Retail Consortium, added: “The December results conclude a difficult year for retailers, with footfall dropping by 2.6 percent over the year. This continued drop continues to put pressure on bricks-and-mortar stores up and down the country. It comes at a time when retail is in the midst of a transformation, investing in technology and the online offer, as well as offering more experiences in physical shops. This is evolving many high streets into a destination for wider services, as well as shopping.

“However, many well-known brands have disappeared from our high streets, and without government intervention there will be more to come. Government should take action by reforming the broken business rates system and ensuring consumers and retailers retain tariff free, frictionless trade with the EU after March 29.”

The December footfall figures cover the five weeks November 25 – December 29, 2018.

Image: FashionUnited