In a recent review conducted by Springboard, the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on retail footfall has been analyzed. Although there has been a recovery since the initial lockdown in 2020, footfall in 2021 still experienced a significant decline of 31.1% compared to pre-pandemic levels in 2019. However, this decline was a slight improvement from the 39.1% drop seen in 2020, indicating the positive influence of the vaccination program on consumer confidence.
The upcoming year holds potential changes in consumer behavior, as Springboard suggests that the hybrid office/home working model will likely result in increased retail visits during evenings and weekends. This shift in working patterns may lead to longer dwell times and a greater combination of shopping and dining experiences. Retail parks have already shown their appeal to consumers, as footfall in these locations only dropped by 4.4% compared to 2019. This could then influence retailers’ decisions on store locations in the future.
Throughout 2021, footfall experienced fluctuations due to the emergence of the Delta and Omicron variants. As a result, the movement of “shopping local” became a notable trend, posing challenges for city center flagship destinations. The shift to remote work further solidified the trend of localism, with 57% of consumers working from home at least part of the week. Consequently, footfall in large city centers experienced a greater reduction compared to local high streets. For instance, Central London saw a disastrous decline of 52% in footfall, whereas Outer London experienced a lower drop of 27.3%.
Despite the overall decline in footfall, certain categories within the retail sector managed to perform well. Jewelry sales, for example, increased by 15.1% compared to 2019. Moreover, the health & beauty and fashion & accessories categories experienced only slight declines of -0.5% and -0.6% respectively. Additionally, online sales remained strong throughout the year, accounting for an average of 30% of total sales in 2021, compared to 27.2% in 2020.
The resilience of the fashion industry was evident during the third lockdown, as online sales for clothing and footwear peaked at 57.4%. This indicates that consumers continued to purchase fashion items through online channels despite limited options for in-store shopping. Surprisingly, even with only essential retailers being able to trade, 42.6% of fashion spending still occurred in-store, suggesting that consumers were making their fashion purchases at multi-category stores.
Useful links:
Springboard review: https://www.spring-board.info/
Impact of Covid-19 on retail footfall: https://www.reuters.com/business/springboard-says-risks-covid-surge-remains-retail-footfall-recovers-2022-01-18/
