NI retail gets ‘positive start’ to 2016
Figures from shopping analysts Springboard have shown NI footfall is gathering pace
Despite the lack of sunshine, Northern Ireland’s retail sector began 2016 brightly, with vacancy levels falling and footfall on the up.
In January, local footfall numbers were 1.7 per cent higher than a year ago, reversing a 1.1 per cent December decline. It also represented the best performance since October 2015.
Meanwhile, NI’s recalcitrant vacancy rate dropped to 14.7 per cent, down from 16.3 per cent in the previous quarter. Although a significant fall, it is still much higher that the UK’s national vacancy level of 8.7 per cent.
Responding to the figures, Aodhán Connolly, director of the Northern Ireland Retail Consortium, said: “This has been an encouraging January for retail as shopper footfall rose to its best performance since last October and vacancy rates across Northern Ireland continue to fall, recording the lowest shop vacancy rate since January 2012.
“Our members are hopeful that this positive start to 2016 will be built upon by consumers continuing to spend their hard earned money on our high-streets and retailers continuing to invest in our economy.”
Mr Connolly added that retailers, who employ over 70,000 people in Northern Ireland, needed government cooperation to create more jobs.
“The on-going review of business rates needs to realise the unbalanced burden on retailers and provide fairness and equity,” he said.
“Government must also be aware of the growing cumulative burden of issues as diverse as the National Living Wage and new Apprenticeship Levy to the proposed deposit return scheme for drinks containers, and instead work with us to make Northern Ireland truly fit for business in the 21st century.”
In the rest of the UK, footfall in January was 1.2 per cent up on a year ago, significantly above the 2.2 per cent decline seen in December.
Retail park locations increased 5.2 per cent year-on-year, well ahead of their 2.1 per cent rise in December, and above the three-month average rate of three per cent.
High Streets reported their first rise in footfall since July 2013, excluding Easter distortions, and was significantly ahead of December’s four per cent decline.
Footfall growth in Shopping Centres was broadly flat, its best performance since January 2014.
Diane Wehrle, marketing and insights director at Springboard, said: “In contrast to the UK where footfall increased in all types of retail destinations, Northern Irish footfall in shopping centres declined by 0.9 per cent, although the increase 2.6 per cent in high streets was the best since October 2015 and higher than the rise of 0.2 per cent across the UK.
“Tracking footfall since 2009 has shown that it is the post 5pm period that has been most resilient, with improvements in daytime footfall following an increase in activity in the evening.
“Alongside footfall, spending across the UK rose in January led by furniture and hospitality which potentially has longer term benefits by increasing shoppers’ awareness of store offerings and driving up spend through longer dwell times and the ‘family effect’, whereby the family shopping group typically increases transactions values.
“At 14.7 per cent the vacancy rate in Northern Ireland remains higher than the 8.7 per cent across the UK, but like the UK it has improved over the last quarter (from 16.3 per cent in October 2015). Evidence shows the driving force in the drop in vacancies across the UK to be an increase in pop-ups and temporary lets in the run up to Christmas and which are still occupied. It seems that Northern Ireland’s retail destinations are lagging behind in the demand from occupiers for space, but the improvement in each quarter since July is an optimistic sign moving forward into 2016.”
