Retail footfall down 4.6% in January
Retail footfall was down 4.6% in January as the snow in the second half of the month deterred shoppers from visiting high streets, shopping centres and out-of-town retail parks.
This is the weakest footfall figure since April 2012 when shopper numbers declined by 6.9%.
Figures from the British Retail Consortium/Springboard Footfall and Vacancies Monitor reveal that out-of-town locations saw the greatest percentage fall in numbers in the month at 7.2%, followed by shopping centres at 5.2% and high streets at 3.3%.
Helen Dickinson, BRC director general, said: “This steep drop in footfall is obviously a cause for concern but, as our sales figures showed last week, fewer shoppers on the streets doesn’t seem to have dented sales growth in January. The mid-month snow took its toll on numbers of people out braving the elements, especially when making journeys to out-of-town retail parks, but it seems that many of us stayed one step ahead of the big chill and bought more on fewer shopping trips.”
Never Miss a Retail Update!Diane Wehrle, research director at Springboard, added: “What is unusual – particularly in the winter – is that the high street fared better than shopping centres which recorded a decline in footfall of -5.2%. One possible reason for this is the greater diversity of high streets which provide a wide ranging offer and a greater representation of independents.”
The national town centre vacancy rate in the UK was 10.9% in January 2013, down from 11.3% in October 2012.
Wehrle said: “The key finding here is that vacancies in particular regions have increased significantly over the past three months, e.g. an increase from 15.1% to 17% in Wales which may be a reflection of the impact of the recent closure of key high street names.
“The premise that high vacancy rates tend to perpetuate low footfall appears to hold true with a decline in footfall of -10.1% in Wales alongside an increase in a vacancy rate of 1.9% from October compared with an increase in footfall in the West Midlands of 5.3 percentage points alongside a vacancy rate that has fallen over the last three months by 0.7%.”
