Even though this is the busiest time of year for retailers, worries about the cost of living this year still have an impact on consumers’ propensity to spend and shop.
Retail analytics firm MRI Software reports that last week’s foot traffic at all UK retail locations decreased by 3.8% from 2022 levels. Naturally, the entire performance last month suffered from increasing online demand over the Black Friday weekend, particularly on the high street.
High streets saw the biggest decline in foot traffic from 2022 levels, with a 6.3% decrease from the same month the previous year. High street foot traffic also decreased by 3.4% week over week, perhaps attributable to higher activity during the Black Friday weekend.
The disparity between the 2019 level and high streets widened to -16.7% from -11.9 percent the previous week due to the decline in activity last week. Retail parks had a slight improvement, with the deficit shrinking to -2.1 percent from -5.7 percent the week before, while shopping malls saw a slight improvement as well, with the gap closing to -19 percent from -20.4 percent the week before.
All ten UK geographic regions saw a decrease in foot traffic compared to 2022 levels, with Wales seeing the worst decline of 11.4%.
After more research, it was discovered that foot traffic decreased by 0.5% week over week across all UK retail locations. This decline was primarily caused by a 3.4% decline in high street activity following a spike in business over the Black Friday weekend and a cold snap at the end of the week.
Nonetheless, foot traffic at shopping centres and retail parks increased week over week by 1.9% and 3.1%, respectively.
