High street footfall is slowly increasing as Christmas approaches, according to new data.
According to the British Retail Consortium-Springboard Footfall Monitor, the high street is holding its own against shopping centres and out-of-town developments when it comes to shopper numbers during the festive period.
For the week commencing November 26, high street footfall increased by 7.3% compared to the previous week, although it was down 2.1% compared to the same period last year. This momentum continued into the week commencing December 3 with an increase of 2.2% on the previous week. This was slightly down (-0.8%) compared to the same period in 2011.
According to the research, the high street outperformed out-of-town developments (+0.9%) on a week-on-basis for December 3 while shopping centres are struggling on a year-on-year basis (-4.9% for the week commencing December 3).
Stephen Robertson, British Retail Consortium director general, attributed the slow progress to online shopping and the cold weather. He was optimistic for the final two weeks before Christmas Day.
“The good news is footfall edged up by 2.3% overall for December 3 compared with the previous week,” he said. “Though the increase is a baby step rather than a big leap, it at least demonstrates that momentum is building slowly but surely as we get into the final fortnight before Christmas.”
No comments yet