January footfall to stores is usually unimpressive in the UK, despite the allure of the clearance sales. But there was a surprise on Thursday when tracking specialist MRI Software said it rose year on year for the first time since 2016.

It will be intriguing to see what other footfall reports for the period say given the slightly different date ranges and other methodologies trackers use.

That January 2016 date might be significant given that it was the year we’d see the Brexit referendum, followed by the pandemic so it’s perhaps not unexpected that visitor traffic to stores has been sluggish in multiple months across the year since then (apart from some odd spikes linked to the rush after lockdowns were eased, with such figures often factored out given their exceptional nature).

So what actually happened last month — or more accurately, what happened in the five weeks from 29 December to 1 February?

Footfall rose 1.4% compared to last year in all UK retail destinations, led by a 1.8% boost in shopping centres (we’ve already heard a raft of malls hailing strong results so that’s not a shock). That was joined by a 1.4% rise in retail parks, and 1.1% in high streets. As mentioned, this is the greatest year on year increase seen (outside of the pandemic era) since January 2016 when footfall rose by 1.2% for the same period.

Admittedly, month on month footfall declined by 20.8% in all UK retail destinations, but that aligns with historical trends observed each January following the festive season.

Weekday footfall in January rose 1.6% year on year in January but weekend footfall declined by 3.5%. This is particularly important as it could be an indicator of many more employees returning to offices throughout the month and so providing the weekday boost not seen for since before Covid disrupted the retail sector. 

MRI Software’s Central London Back to Office benchmark revealed a 1.4% uplift in January footfall year on year driven by a 4.4% rise during the early evening period (5pm-8pm). Weekday footfall in office-dense locations within London rose by 4% compared to January 2024.

The firm’s Consumer Pulse report revealed that evening shopping (post 5pm) is the most common time for office workers to visit retail destinations with around 34% choosing to do so. 

On days when employees work from the office, 31% of respondents stated they visit high streets during lunch hours, the highest among all destinations, highlighting their proximity and convenience during work breaks.

Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays see the highest overlap in office work and shopping activity, with 58% of respondents attending work weekly on Tuesdays and aligning retail visits for midweek convenience. 

The fact that Mondays and Fridays don’t figure strongly here underlines that many people still work from home for one or two days a week.

The weather may have been a factor too. Despite some bad weather across the UK, new figures say that globally January was warmer than expected so perhaps some brave souls ventured out because the usual snow and heavy rain might not have been quite as heavy as in other years.

As for the future, anyone shopping in the next few weeks might be disappointed by higher prices. The Autumn Budget is starting to impact retail strategies as almost 40% of retailers surveyed in MRI Software’s weekly ‘Insights from the Inside’ poll revealed they were planning to increase product prices over the next month.