UK retail footfall received a much-needed boost during the early Christmas season as Christmas lights illuminated various retail destinations across the country. According to the latest Footfall figures, footfall increased by a modest 1.5% week-on-week from 7-13 November. This improvement signaled a recovery from the previous week’s lackluster performance.
The rise in footfall was primarily driven by high streets and shopping centres, which experienced increases of 2.5% and 1.7% respectively, offsetting a 1.1% decline at retail parks. Notably, there was a significant difference between footfall on weekdays and weekends. While footfall during the weekdays saw an average decline of 1.4%, the first and last days of the week witnessed an average increase of 8%. Saturday, in particular, saw a surge in footfall after the Christmas lights were switched on in many cities on Friday. High streets and shopping centres experienced remarkable growth, with increases of 11.7% and 10% respectively. Retail parks saw a more modest gain of 3.2% during the same period.
Although footfall in London increased by 1% last week, the full impact of the Christmas lights switch-on is expected to be more evident this week. Observers predict a clearer benefit to footfall as a result. Regional cities outside of the capital, where lights were switched on Friday, experienced a larger increase of 4.7% compared to a gain of just 1.4% in market towns.
Despite these positive signs of Christmas trading beginning, footfall still has ground to recover. The gap between current footfall levels and those of 2019 widened to -14.8%, compared to -13.4% in the previous week. High streets faced a gap of -16.5% from 2019, while shopping centres had a gap of -22%. On the other hand, retail parks remained the most resilient, with a gap of just -3.5% from 2019. However, the drop in footfall from the previous week resulted in this gap nearly doubling from -1.9%.
These early Christmas season footfall figures indicate a positive boost for the UK retail sector. As the festive season approaches, retailers will be eagerly anticipating further increases in footfall and consumer spending. The switch-on of Christmas lights in retail destinations has clearly attracted shoppers and generated a sense of excitement and holiday spirit. With the recovery of footfall, retailers now have the opportunity to recoup some of the losses experienced during the pandemic and regain momentum in the lead-up to Christmas.
Here are two useful links relevant to the article:
1. Retail Gazette
2. iNews
