UK high street retailers saw the quietest Christmas period since 1998 followed by another slump in footfall on New Year’s day. In December, footfall was down by 9.3% when compared with the previous year, the widest gap year-on-year since 2006, and the week in the run up to Christmas saw a decline of 1.7%. The largest regional drop in footfall was felt by the south-west of England and Wales, which saw a decline of 14.4%.
According to retail benchmarking firm, Springboard Insights, overall footfall on New Year’s day was down by 23.8% year-on-year, which they attributed to several key factors. These included poor weather and bank holiday trading hours as well as the ease of online shopping, which director of Springboard Insights, Diane Wehrle suggested “proved too enticing for shoppers keen to snap up further discounts in the sales rather than bracing the cold outdoors”.
