Retail

Current lockdown saw footfall decline by 78% YoY in UK

09 Feb '21

2 min read

Pic: Shutterstock

The current lockdown saw footfall decline by 78 per cent year on year (YoY) in the United Kingdom compared with a 76 per cent decline during the second lockdown (5 November–2 December), and 82 per cent decline during the first lockdown (23 March–15 June), according to BRC-ShopperTrak data, which revealed footfall on high streets declined by 73.3 per cent YoY.

YoY UK footfall decreased by 76.9 per cent in January, a 30.8 percentage point worsening from December. This is the largest drop in the UK footfall since May 2020 (minus 81.6 per cent).

The 77.8 per cent decline in footfall on high streets was the deepest since May 2020. This is worse than both the 3- and 12-month average declines of 59.8 per cent and 51.3 per cent respectively, according to a press release from the British Retail Consortium (BRC).

Retail parks saw footfall reduce by 40.9 per cent YoY, the deepest decline since May 2020 (minus 55 per cent). This is worse than both the 3- and 12-month average declines of 26.9 per cent and 26.3 per cent respectively.

Shopping centre footfall declined by 78.2 per cent year on year, the deepest decline since May 2020 (minus 84.9 per cent). This is below the 3- and 12-month average declines of 59.9 per cent and 52.6 per cent respectively.

Northern Ireland saw the shallowest footfall decline of all regions at minus 66.4 per cent, followed by Scotland at minus 72.5 per cent. Wales saw the deepest decline at minus 79.1 per cent.

“Footfall went from bad to worse in January, dropping by over three quarters. So far, retail locations in England are being hit harder than in the previous lockdown. Under tight restrictions for the whole month, shopping centres saw the biggest decline in footfall of all retail locations, overtaking high streets for the first time since July 2020,” BRC chief executive Helen Dickinson said.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (DS)

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