UK retailers saw a 3.5 per cent year-on-year decrease in footfall in December, marking the biggest decline since March 2013, the latest BRC-Springboard figures show.

All regions across the UK experienced a drop in footfall for December, with the sharpest reductions seen in Scotland (4.7 per cent), the South West (5.2 per cent) and Greater London (3.7 per cent).

Footfall declined by 3.1 per cent in Northern Ireland, marking seven months of consecutive decline, while footfall in Wales also declined 2.6 per cent.

However, the latest footfall results are in contrast to overall retail sales figures, which rose in December – indicating an increasing move by UK consumers to online purchasing.

Helen Dickinson, chief executive of the British Retail Consortium, commented: “The sharp drop in footfall this December, while sales grew overall, underlines how shopping is being transformed by the shift to online. In the past, shoppers would have exclusively visited physical stores to ensure stockings were filled for Christmas. Improved delivery options by both purely digital retailers and those with stores and an online offer mean many purchases of last minute gifts are moving online.

“Retail parks fared slightly better than High Streets by providing Christmas shoppers with the draw and convenience of parking, easy Click and Collect, and leisure facilities.”

Diane Wehrle, marketing and insights director at Springboard, added: “This is a significant weakening in performance from December 2016 when footfall in retail destinations dropped by just 0.2 per cent, and it is the worst result for any month since March 2013. But it was High Streets and shopping centres that struggled in attracting customers, whilst there was strengthening in retail parks, from -0.7 per cent last December to -0.6 per cent this year.”

Share Story: