As the Christmas shopping season approaches, footfall across UK retail destinations has remained stagnant, according to the latest data from Springboard, a specialist footfall tracker. Last week, footfall saw a marginal decline of 0.7% compared to the previous week. High streets saw no change, while retail parks and shopping centres experienced decreases of 1.5% and 1.6% respectively. These declines were observed in all UK regions except one.
However, there were pockets of recovery in Central London and regional cities, where footfall increased by 2.7% and 2.1% respectively. This suggests that the return to the office is playing a role in the recovery of these areas. Although footfall last week remained 14% lower compared to 2019, it showed a significant increase of 28.1% compared to the same period last year.
Diane Wehrle, Insights Director at Springboard, highlighted that despite concerns about supply issues impacting Christmas product availability, UK consumers have not yet changed their shopping behavior. The discussions in the media regarding these supply issues have not had a noticeable impact on footfall in retail parks and shopping centres. Furthermore, the rising number of people returning to office work is reflected in the declining footfall in outer London and market towns, which are often associated with remote working, and the increasing footfall in Central London and regional cities.
These findings suggest that while some caution may still exist among UK consumers in early Christmas shopping, there are positive signs of recovery in certain areas. The potential impact of supply issues on consumer behavior remains uncertain, but for now, footfall patterns in retail destinations appear largely unaffected. With the return to the office gaining momentum, it will be intriguing to observe how this trend influences shopping patterns in the coming weeks and months.
Useful links:
– Springboard
– BBC News: UK footfall stagnant as Christmas shopping begins
