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UK retail footfall down 2.9 percent for November

By FashionUnited

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Retail footfall for the month of November was 2.9 percent

lower than a year ago, according to the latest data published by the British Retail Consortium (BRC) and Springboard, remaining unchanged from October's rate and less than the thee-month average of 2.7 percent.

UK's high streets reported the biggest drop in footfall, 4.2 percent and on a three-month basis it was the worst dip in footfall since August 2012. Out-of-town retail centers witnessed a 2.1 percent drop and shopping centers saw a 1 percent dip.

All seven regions reported a decline in footfall, only Scotland reported a significant improvement, with retail footfall down 0.3 percent from a 2.7 percent drop in September and October. The East with a decline of 0.5 percent, the North and Yorkshire with a drop of 1.8 percent and Greater London with a decrease of 2.7 percent were the only regions to report footfall above the UK average.


Shopping trips put off until the countdown to Christmas begins

Helen Dickinson, director general at the BRC said: “This figure is in line with October, and tallies with recent signs in our sales data that festive spending has got off to a slow but steady start. While some areas saw an improvement in footfall compared against the previous month, numbers were negative across the board, strengthening the sense that many of us were holding off on major shopping trips until December ushered in the final countdown to Christmas.”

“Shopping centers performed the strongest of the three channels, suggesting that many people opted to condense their trips where possible so that they could cover off their Christmas lists under one roof. High streets fared less well, but were up against a comparatively strong rate in 2012.

“These figures may seem subdued, but factors like enhanced multichannel offers and Christmas day falling on Wednesday this year are changing customer habits and giving people the confidence to leave much of their spending until later. Clearly there’s still all to play for: footfall has been building since the end of November and I expect this to continue now that we’re less than a fortnight away from the big day.”

Retail insights director at Springboard, Diane Wehrle adds that “the 2.9 percent drop in footfall in November is disappointing and suggests that Christmas trading could be challenging if December 2012 is anything to go by when a 0.4 percent increase in November 2012 preceded a drop in footfall of 1.2 percent.”

BRC
Springboard