By Michael Susin
The holiday season proved to be a dampener for U.K. retail stores, as heavy rain kept shoppers away, according to a report from the British Retail Consortium and Sensormatic Solutions IQ Footfall Monitor. The report revealed that footfall in retail stores, including high-street, retail-park, and shopping-center data, fell by 5.0% in the five weeks leading up to December 30 compared to the same period the previous year. This decline follows a 0.7% decrease in store visits in November and a sharp 5.7% drop in October when Storm Babet hit the U.K.
Andy Sumpter, a retail consultant at Sensormatic Solutions, attributed the slump in footfall to the combination of heavy rain, low consumer confidence, and caution in spending. Sumpter stated, "One of the wettest Decembers on record combined with dampened consumer confidence and ongoing spending caution meant some retailers may have been left disappointed in last month's footfall performance."
While there were some spikes in footfall during discounting days like Boxing Day, with a 39.2% increase week-on-week, many shoppers were seemingly holding out for a last-minute Christmas trading rush that failed to materialize.
Shopping centers experienced the largest decrease in footfall, with a drop of 7.4% in December. High streets recorded a decline of 4.2%, while visits to retail parks fell by 4.8%.
Sumpter expressed his concern over the overall downward trend in store visits during December, which is typically the peak of the Golden Quarter for retailers. He hopes that demand will improve as inflation eases and the impact of inflationary spending squeeze on disposable incomes lessens.
