29 March 2024, 00:49
By Furniture News Jun 10, 2019

Retail footfall plummets in May

According to the latest BRC-Springboard Footfall and Vacancies Monitor, retail footfall declined by -3.5% in May compared to the same point last year when it declined by -0.4%.

High street footfall declined by -4.8%, retail park footfall by -0.8%, and shopping centre footfall by -3.6%.

Helen Dickinson OBE, BRC chief executive, says: “The UK experienced the worst footfall figures in six years [excluding Easter distortions], with declines in every region, and across high streets, retail parks and shopping centres. This reflects our recent sales data, which showed the largest drop in retail sale on record. The colder weather, as well as ongoing political and economic uncertainty, made many consumers think twice before heading out to the shops this May."

Diane Wehrle, Springboard's marketing and insights director, comments: “The -3.5% drop in footfall in UK bricks-and-mortar destinations in May is a poor result and is consistent with the drop in sales for the month. However, we should note the YoY comparisons are off the back of a particularly strong result in May last year of -0.4%, which was boosted by warm weather and special events, and followed on from a challenging April marred by bad weather and loss of seasonal sales due to the early March Easter. 

“All destination types found it much tougher this May to attract customers, but the fact that the greatest impact was felt by high streets with a drop in footfall of -4.8% is not a surprise given the much poorer weather than in May last year. Footfall worsened across all parts of the day, but the most significant drop occurred post 5pm, moving from a rise of +1.9% in May last year to a decline of -4.5% this year. It is clear that consumers are being ever more discerning in their dining habits, and recent failures in the sector indicate both the level of competition and suggests that the everyday dining operators need to provide a more tempting food offer keep customers for the post-5pm spend slot.

“Nonetheless, it is really important to note the longer-term trend, with footfall declining by just -1.1% over the five-month period since January. This a much improved position on the drop of -2.4% over the same five-month period last year, showing us that the reduction in customers visiting retail destinations this year has slowed, a more positive result than might have been expected.”

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