According to data from the British Retail Consortium (BRC)-Sensormatic IQ, retail footfall in the UK showed signs of recovery in January. There was a 12.5% increase compared to the previous year, indicating a positive trend. However, this growth was slightly lower than December’s figures, with a decrease of 2.6%.
The surge in footfall has been attributed to the return of local office workers to their workplaces, which has particularly benefited high streets. Year-on-year footfall on high streets increased by 20.2%, a slight increase of 0.5% from the previous month.
Shopping centres also saw an increase of 12.4% in footfall during January, although this was 1% lower than December. However, retail parks struggled in comparison, experiencing a decline of 3.5% compared to the previous year and a 1.9% decline from December.
Despite the positive growth in footfall, the retail sector still has a long way to go to reach pre-pandemic levels. Overall, footfall declined by 6.5% compared to pre-pandemic levels. High streets saw an 8.5% decrease, shopping centres experienced a significant decline of 25.2%, and retail parks saw a decrease of 7.7%.
Helen Dickinson, Chief Executive of the British Retail Consortium, attributed the January growth to the return of office workers, as well as an increase in international tourists visiting the UK for shopping trips. She also mentioned the January sales as a contributing factor. However, retail parks faced challenges due to the cost of living crisis, which deterred shoppers from purchasing big-ticket home products typically found in those locations.
The findings from the retail tracker released by Springboard supported Dickinson’s views, showing that footfall on UK high streets rose by 17.2% on weekdays compared to the previous year. On weekends, footfall increased by a smaller 10.3%, indicating that employees have been enticed back into the office for the new year.
Overall, the data suggests that the return of office workers and an increase in tourism have helped boost retail footfall in the UK. However, footfall is still below pre-pandemic levels, indicating that retailers need to continue adapting and innovating in order to fully recover from the impact of the COVID-19 crisis.
Links:
1. British Retail Consortium
2. Springboard
