UK footfall recovered to -60 per cent yesterday (27 December) after Boxing Day shopper numbers slumped to -87 per cent year-on-year, Sensormatic’s retail data from ShopperTrak, revealed.
The latest data from ShopperTrak’s footfall index, which captures 40 billion shopper visits each year, showed that across all retail settings, including High Streets, shopping centres and retail parks, total footfall recovered by +27 per cent percentage points on 27 December after dropping to its lowest point since the start of the pandemic on Boxing Day. In the first lockdown, footfall’s lowest month was -85 per cent year-on-year, while Boxing Day’s shopper traffic plummeted to -87 per cent year-on-year, with High Streets worst affected as shopper numbers fell to -92 per cent compared to 2019.
The plummeting Boxing Day footfall figures were both due to tightened covid-19 restrictions, forcing non-essential retail businesses to close in Tier 4 areas, but also the decision by many retailers, including Aldi, Asda, John Lewis, M&S and Home Bargains, to close their stores on Boxing Day to give staff an extra day off. However, those businesses reopening provided a welcome boost to footfall, with retail parks recovering to -36 per cent year-on-year, and High Streets also recouping trade – while shopper traffic is still down -58 per cent compared to 2019, it followed a -92 per cent slump on Boxing Day itself.
Northern Ireland and Wales, both in national lockdowns, were the lowest in terms of footfall counts in the UK – both down 91 per cent year-on-year, while the East and South East of England, regions in the toughest Tier 4 measures, suffered the worst blow to trade in England, with shopper numbers down -87 per cent and -83 per cent on last year respectively.
Liverpool, currently in Tier 2, saw footfall down -67 per cent year-on-year on Boxing Day, but saw the biggest recovery on 27th December to -22 per cent, while in Tier 3 Leeds shopper numbers were also down -66% on Boxing Day, rising to -28 per cent on the 27th. Elsewhere, London footfall rose to -79 per cent yesterday (compared to – 99.2 per cent on Boxing Day), however, Portsmouth struggled to make up for the Boxing Day low of -99.5 per cent, rising only to -97 per cent on the 27th, as shoppers continued to stay away.
Andy Sumpter, Sensormatic’s Retail Consultant EMEA for ShopperTrak, commented: “Whilst yesterday saw a welcome footfall recovery, boosted by those essential retail businesses who chose to close on Boxing Day reopening, the improvement in shopper numbers will bring little rest bite for retailers as footfall remains down -60 per cent year-on-year. With the threat of tougher restrictions looming for larger parts of the country, retail face significant uncertainty as to whether further stores may have to close into the new year, taking out an entire sales channel and damaging their trading prospects.”
“However, having been dealt many blows over the course of the pandemic, the High Street remains resilient. Time and again, we’ve seen the public’s continued support for local stores return when retail has reopened – at the end of the second lockdown in November, for example, shopper traffic rose +193 per cent nationally week-on-week in an overwhelming show of support. Retailers will be hoping, when restrictions are eased and they can reopen, that consumers will once again vote with their feet and deliver valuable trade to High Street businesses.”
Traditionally one of the landmark days for retail during the Christmas period, shopper traffic on Boxing Day itself has been declining in recent years. This is due in part by the acceleration of online sales, as well as retailers extending their discounting strategies for longer periods in December, with many now running promotions from November’s Black Friday right through to the January sales. Last year, footfall on Black Friday fell 11.8 per cent year-on-year.
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