Rising footfall boost for shops
BRITAIN’S shops have drawn strong crowds over the winter period, according to new data released this morning.
Footfall across the UK was up 1.8 per cent across November, December and January, compared to the same period one year earlier.
“For the first time in five years December saw footfall up on the previous year as savvy shoppers took advantage of heavy retailer discounting,” commented Diane Wehrle of Springboard, which compiles the figures with the British Retail Consortium (BRC).
Footfall on the high street was stronger than in towns’ purpose-built shopping centres, Wehrle added.
“This is testament to the success of town centres in attracting trade during cold weather when customers often gravitate towards a covered shopping environment.”
Out of town shopping centres saw the biggest increase in footfall (3.1 per cent) while high streets experienced 1.4 per cent growth. Other shopping centres saw an expansion in footfall of just 0.8 per cent.
Heavy snowfall in the run-up to Christmas 2010 made for easy comparables in December, however, with the BRC warning that footfall slipped in January.
Nonetheless the three-month measure, designed to iron out monthly volatility, rose by 1.8 per cent, compared to a fall of 2.3 per cent in the previous three-month period.
The figures revealed significant variations in footfall across different regions of the UK. In Greater London and the south east, footfall rose by 0.5 per cent and 7.1 per cent respectively.