Footfall rises but high street is still losing out
HIGH-STREET shops have failed to make any gains from improved footfall in January’s sales, continuing to slip behind other platforms for bricks and mortar retailers.
A boost to sales following Christmas didn’t translate into more traffic for high streets, according to new figures released today by Springboard and the British Retail Consortium (BRC) – but other types of retail did benefit.
Overall, UK stores recorded a 1.6 per cent increase in footfall during January, compared to the same month in 2013.
The rise was the quickest in just over two years, but high-street stores still reported an ongoing decline in footfall, dropping 0.6 per cent in the same 12 month period.
High-street shops also saw a 3.7 per cent drop in footfall during December, even during the peak of Christmas shopping.
“This is likely to be a combination of the adverse impact of the ongoing rain on visits to external environments and the demand for furniture which drives visits to retail parks and supported January’s strong sales results,” said Diane Wehrle, retail insights director at Springboard.
Including high street, out-of-town and shopping centre retailers, foot traffic rose most in London, increasing by 3.2 per cent in comparison to January 2013.
The figures also suggest that vacancies are becoming slightly less common: the proportion of stores that are empty fell from 11.1 per cent to 11 per cent last month.
“Despite the tough trading conditions in retail locations over the second half of 2013, the drop in the vacancy rate from 11.1 per cent to 11 per cent indicates a degree of optimism,” Wehrle added.
Figures last week from the BRC and KPMG suggested the fastest growth in sales for almost four years this January.