Footfall Fiasco – Drop adds to retailers’ worries, says NIRC

Footfall Fiasco – Drop adds to retailers’ worries, says NIRC
NIRC-SENSORMATIC IQ FOOTFALL MONITOR – JUNE 2021

Footfall drop adds to retailers’ worries – covering the five weeks 30 May – 03 July 2021

2020 was a turbulent year in which much of retail bounced between being open and closed, impacting footfall significantly. To make meaningful comparisons to changes in footfall, all 2021 figures are compared with 2019 (pre-pandemic). This means our 2021 figures are now year-on-two-years (Yo2Y), rather than year-on-year (YoY).

According to NIRC-Sensormatic IQ data Northern Ireland footfall decreased by 20.6% in June (Yo2Y), a 5.7 percentage point decrease from May. This is above the UK average decline of 27.6% (Yo2Y). Northern Ireland saw the shallowest decline in footfall of all UK regions.

Shopping Centre footfall declined by 16.9% in June (Yo2Y) in Northern Ireland, down from -4.2% in May.

In June, footfall in Belfast decreased by 22.3% (Yo2Y), a 2.0 percentage point decline from May.

Aodhán Connolly, Northern Ireland Retail Consortium Director, said:

“Although Northern Ireland still leads the pack in footfall bounce back across the UK, we are still 5 percentage points worse than last month and 20 percentage points down on the last comparable year which was 2019. This shows that there is still much to do and that our towns, cities and shopping destinations are still feeling the pinch of workers not being back in the office and the spend that generates on everything from food to go to clothes.

Added to that we have seen increased costs due to covid continue as well as a squeeze coming from global shipping and commodity prices which will particularly affect non-food items. This is compounded on the food front, as we still are no closer to agreeing a trusted trader scheme between the EU and the UK which we need to keep choice and affordability for NI households. We need the Government and the EU to work together to deliver this scheme with urgency and live up to their commitments to the people of Northern Ireland. “

Andy Sumpter, Retail Consultant EMEA for Sensormatic Solutions, said:
“The UK’s footfall in June was mildly better than what we saw in May. This small uplift in footfall (only seen in England and Wales) was perhaps unsurprising given that COVID rules were, by and large, the same. Whilst confidence from the vaccination program and some indoor dining might have given a much-needed boost, the delayed rollback of restrictions, due to the accelerated spread of the delta variant will have dampened the impact.

“With most restrictions expected to be lifted on the 19th of July, we can finally hope to see what the somewhat over-referenced new normal may actually look like. As more people start to venture back to their offices, the much-missed commuter business will be a welcome return. Retailers will also be hoping their customers have missed browsing without restrictions, as much as they have missed their customers.”

MONTHLY TOTAL NORTHERN IRELAND RETAIL FOOTFALL (% CHANGE WITH 2019)

UK FOOTFALL BY LOCATION (% CHANGE WITH 2019)

TOTAL FOOTFALL BY REGION (% CHANGE WITH 2019)

GROWTH RANK REGION % GROWTH Yo2Y
1 Northern Ireland -20.6%
2 South West England -20.6%
3 East of England -21.6%
4 East Midlands -22.1%
5 North West England -24.1%
6 South East England -24.6%
7 Wales -25.6%
8 West Midlands -25.9%
9 Yorkshire and the Humber -26.2%
10 England -27.9%
11 North East England -28.2%
12 Scotland -29.5%
13 London -38.9%

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TOTAL FOOTFALL BY CITY (% CHANGE WITH 2019)

 

GROWTH RANK CITY % GROWTH Yo2Y
1 Portsmouth -21.6%
2 Belfast -22.3%
3 Liverpool -23.1%
4 Leeds -24.5%
5 Cardiff -24.6%
6 Bristol -26.2%
7 Nottingham -27.3%
8 Glasgow -30.3%
9 Manchester -33.0%
10 Birmingham -36.7%
11 London -38.5%