The first January footfall report — from MRI Software — came out on Thursday and had good news for UK retail, then on Friday the British Retail Consortium released its own report and that delivered more upbeat figures.
Landsec
In conjunction with Sensormatic, the BRC said that the five weeks from 29 December up to 1 February saw total UK footfall rising year on year by 6.6%. That was compared to a 2.2% drop in December.
High Street footfall was up 4.5% in January, much better than the 2.7% decline in the previous month. Meanwhile retail parks rose by 7.9% compared to flat footfall in December. And shopping centres rose 7.4%, up from a 3.3% deficit in the previous month.
And footfall increased in all four UK nations with Wales leading the charge on 8.5%, followed by England on 7.4%, with Northern Ireland on 3.5% and Scotland rising but only by 1%.
Helen Dickinson, CEO of the British Retail Consortium, said: “Shopper footfall received a welcome boost in January following a disappointing festive period. Store visits increased substantially in the first week of the month as many consumers hit the January sales in their local community, with shopping centres faring particularly well. Despite snowy weather and Storm Eowyn causing disruption in some areas, footfall was still positive across major UK cities over the whole month
“Improved shopper traffic is welcome news for high streets following a particularly difficult ‘Golden Quarter’ to end 2024, and low consumer sentiment to start the year.”
And Andy Sumpter, Retail Consultant EMEA for Sensormatic, added: “After a dreary December, retailers will welcome January’s footfall jump. The uptick was boosted by a very strong Week 1, helped in part by New Year’s Day falling on a Wednesday, which may have prompted ambient store traffic as consumers bolted on additional days of leave, as well as retailers extending post-Christmas discounting well into January. Not even the significant disruption from Storm Eowyn was enough to dampen overall footfall performance.
“While welcome, after months of erratic and constrained footfall, the jury’s out as to whether January’s store performance signals the start of a sustained high street revival or if it will be a flash in the pan come February. And, even if shopper traffic recovery has finally turned a corner, the challenge for retailers will be solving the next conundrum; how they balance enhanced footfall – which requires optimised store staffing to convert into sales – and the significant rises to labour costs borne out of the Budget on the one hand, with consumer appetite for discounts — a long-term margin-eroder — on the other, which will not be an easy circle to square.”
