Retail footfall declines by 2.7% in March
UK retail footfall dropped by 2.7% year-on-year in March although the rate of decline was in due in part to the distortion caused by the timing of Easter this year.
The figures from the British Retail Consortium and Springboard show that high street footfall declined by 3.9% while shopping centre footfall fell by 3.7%.
Retail parks were the only locations to see an increase with footfall rising by 1.6%.
Diane Wehrle, marketing and insights director, Springboard, said: “An early Easter is always a challenge for retail destinations as the bank holiday traditionally kick starts demand for Spring fashion and household purchasing. Adverse weather when new season stock comes in significantly impacts shopping trips. With a drop in footfall of 2.7%, this is exactly what occurred this March. High streets and shopping centres were affected the most, and even the longstanding uplift in footfall on retail parks was dampened.”
Helen Dickinson, BRC chief executive, added: “Customers don’t differentiate between buying online, on a mobile device or in-store and often combine two or more different channels when they shop. Therefore, as well as their significant investment in digital, retailers know they also need to continually improve their physical stores to ensure an ever changing and more exciting shopping experience. The ongoing decline in levels of footfall highlights the significance of this structural change.”
