// Footfall in December jumped 15.1% making it the highest level since the pandemic began, new data reveals
// Rail disruption and postal strikes last month pushed consumers towards local shopping destinations
Footfall over the festive period reached its highest level since the start of the pandemic in the run up to Christmas.
Data from the British Retail Consortium’s Sensormatic IQ footfall monitor showed footfall in December jumped 15.1% year on year.
High street shopper numbers surged 19.7% and shopping centres increased by 13.4% while retail parks slipped 1.6%.
Total UK footfall for 2022 was 11.8% lower than pre-pandemic levels, an improvement from 2021’s 33.2% decline.
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“A combination of rail disruption and the cold snap kept many shoppers from visiting town centres and high streets in the last week before Christmas,” said BRC chief executive Helen Dickinson.
“Meanwhile, the postal strikes forced others to head in for the last week to secure last-minute gifts in-store.”
Total UK footfall in December decreased by 7.3% year on three years, which was a 6.0 percentage points improvement than November 2022 and better than the three-month average decline of 10.2%.
High street footfall dropped 9.3% on three years ago, 4.3 percentage points better than November, and an improvement to the three-month average decline of 11%.
Retail parks footfall dropped 5.2% on pre-pandemic levels and was 1 percentage point worse than November and worse than the three-month average decline of 4.5%.
Footfall in shopping centres plummeted 19.9% year on three years ago but was 3.3 percentage points better than last month’s rate and an improvement on the three-month average decline of 20.9%.
However, Dickinson warned that 2023 will be another difficult year for retailers as footfall remains down over 10% of pre-pandemic levels.
“Nonetheless, this was still a significant improvement on the previous two years when the pandemic kept many people at home,” she said.
“Although retailers’ input costs show little sign of easing in 2023, they continue to do all they can to keep prices affordable and tempt customers in.”
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