Insight: UK retail footfall down 5.4% on Black Friday
Footfall was down 5.4% on this year’s Black Friday compared to the same day in the previous year.
The data from Springboard reveals that footfall was also down on Saturday and Sunday, when it dropped by 5.6% and 4.3% respectively.
Springboard said shopping centres were the worst performers with footfall declining by 8.3% on Friday, and by similar percentages over Saturday and Sunday. High street footfall fell by 4% while retail park footfall was down 5.3% on Friday.
In contrast, figures from Loqate/GBG show that online transactions rose by 46% up to 4pm on Black Friday.
Diane Wehrle, insights director at Springboard, said: “The drop in footfall to bricks and mortar stores over Black Friday weekend is a reflection of the larger discounts offered online. Online is open for business 24 hours a day and is therefore seen as a more convenient option for shoppers. Throughout the weekend, the drop in footfall was most dramatic in shopping centres; the stronger resilience of high streets and retail parks in comparison is likely to be a function of their wider range of hospitality outlets compared with shopping centres.”
If the trend for Cyber Monday follows previous years, then Springboard says it is unlikely that footfall will rise today.
Wehrle added: “Discounts continue on Cyber Monday, however, given that Black Friday discounts were made available throughout the week in advance of the day itself, and have continued over the weekend, it is likely that the impetus to make purchases will largely be over.”
