It is also in contrast to June when footfall increased in Belfast by 0.3% (year-on-year), down from 3.7% in May.

Meanwhile, shopping centre footfall decreased by 3.8% in July in NI, down from -1.6% in June.

The data from NIRC-Sensormatic IQ data, covers the fours weeks from 30^th June to 27^th July.

Director of the Northern Ireland Retail Consortium (NIRC), Neil Johnston said these figures will be disappointing for retailers, who were hoping for better.

“Consumers prioritised experiences, eating out and holidays over visits to stores in July, with shopper footfall down 2.2% compared to the same period the year before,” said Mr Johnston.

“This weakness was felt across all retail destinations compared to the month before. That said, store visits in Belfast remained a touch above the levels of 12 months ago, and Northern Ireland as a whole was the third best performer of the 12 parts of the UK surveyed.

“These somewhat feeble footfall results will be a disappointment for retailers who had been hoping for a shopper dividend from the combination of falling shop price inflation, cuts in employee national insurance contributions, and the rosier outlook for household disposable incomes.”

Andy Sumpter, Retail Consultant EMEA for Sensormatic Solutions, added: “Despite a warmer and drier month compared to the wash-out that was June, July’s footfall faltered with shopper traffic falling back compared to last month.

“With only one of the last 12 months returning yearly footfall gains, and as we approach almost a full year of shopper counts yo-yo-ing, it’s clear the longtail of the cost-of-living crisis is continuing to rattle consumer confidence, prompting spending caution and making consumer behaviour less predictable.  With election fever now over and the school holidays now in full swing, retailers will be hoping that spells a positive outlook for store performance in the months to come.”

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However, retailers remained fearful that trading in the lead-up to Christmas will be severely impacted by rising inflation.

They have called for the incoming Prime Minister to immediately outline what packages of support will be offered to consumers the ease the burden on household budgets.

Data from the Northern Ireland Retail Consortium (NIRC) and Sensormatic IQ covering the four weeks from July 31 to August 27 show that overall footfall in the region decreased by 11.5 per cent compared to the same period three years ago, which was 0.8 percentage points better than July. It is better than the UK average decline of 12.4 per cent.

Shopping centre footfall declined by 13.2 per cent in August (Yo3Y) in the north, a weakening on the decline of 9 per cent in July, and in Belfast city, it decreased by 13.1 per cent – 0.3 percentage points worse than July.

David Lonsdale from the British Retail Consortium said: “August saw a slightly more upbeat set of figures for visits to stores in Northern Ireland and the best performance for four months, with concerns about rising household bills not enough to keep shoppers away.

“Buoyed by the return of holidaying, social occasions and tourism, the modest improvement in shopper footfall wasn’t felt across all retail destinations as shopping centres and Belfast city centre struggled.

“Despite the overall improvement, visits to stores remain well down on pre-pandemic levels. That’s worrying given inflationary headwinds and the likely impact on consumer sentiment and spending power, more so in the lead up to what is traditionally the crucial golden trading quarter for the industry in the final months of the year.”

He added: “Next week will see the election of the new Prime Minister. Early action is needed to protect living standards and assist retailers to keep down shop prices. After all, much of our wider economy is ultimately dependent on what happens to consumer spending.”

Andy Sumpter from Sensormatic Solutions added: “Despite the heatwave cooling shopper numbers for periods during the month, August footfall on the whole remained resilient with performance improving against pre-pandemic levels compared to July, boosted in part by August staycations and rising tourist numbers returning.

“But while the outlook for August remained cheery, retailers will be looking ahead to the autumn – and retail’s golden quarter of Christmas trading – with an air of caution as the cost-of-living crisis continues to play out, and they await to see what packages of support will be offered to consumers the ease the burden on household budgets once the new PM is announced next week.”

The post Footfall numbers improve in August – but fears loom over Christmas run-up first appeared on Neighbourhood Retailer.

According to NIRC-Sensormatic IQ data, Northern Ireland footfall decreased by 15.5% in February year on two years (Yo2Y), 6.0 percentage points worse than January. This is worse than the UK average decline of 14.9% (Yo2Y).

Meanwhile, shopping centre footfall declined by 26.0% in February (Yo2Y) in Northern Ireland, an improvement on decline of 27.7% in January.

And in February, footfall in Belfast decreased by 17.8% (Yo2Y), 11.5 percentage points worse than January.

Since the pandemic started, much of retail has bounced between being open and closed, impacting footfall significantly. To make meaningful comparisons to changes in footfall, all figures since March 2021 are compared to their pre-pandemic levels (year-on-2-years, Yo2Y), rather than year-on-year.

Aodhán Connolly, Northern Ireland Retail Consortium Director, said: “Shopper footfall in Northern Ireland fell in February, compared to the same period prior to the pandemic. This was an underwhelming performance after three or four encouraging months and given the rescinding of Covid restrictions in the middle of the month. That said, the dip wasn’t uniform across all destinations as shopping centres saw a modest improvement during the month.

“Concerns about the cost of living may well have exerted a downward pressure on visits to stores. However, these figures do underline the protracted nature of the recovery and the need for continued support from policy makers particularly in the short-term to encourage and entice shoppers back. With much of our wider economy ultimately dependent on what happens to consumer spending it is crucial that the election manifestos of the political parties take a coherent approach to supporting the industry and the customers it serves.”

Andy Sumpter, Retail Consultant EMEA for Sensormatic Solutions, said: “While February’s shopper traffic fell back in Northern Ireland, the total footfall across the UK still leads the top 5 European markets’ footfall recovery, suggesting a collective growing confidence among shoppers.

“With UK Governments announcing the further easing and ending of Covid restrictions, this represents what many, not least retailers, hope will be the ‘beginning of the end’ of the Covid crisis. Our latest data shows consumer concern about in-store safety fell by -18 percentage points year-on-year – however, shoppers now face new and growing pressures.

“The cost-of-living squeeze and inflation, which is putting downward pressures on disposable income, and a volatile macroeconomic and geopolitical climate could create a perfect storm of uncertainty for consumers, which could still impact the long-term retail recovery as it looks to build back post-pandemic.”

MONTHLY TOTAL NORTHERN IRELAND RETAIL FOOTFALL (% CHANGE Yo2Y)

TOTAL FOOTFALL BY REGION (% CHANGE Yo2Y)

TOTAL FOOTFALL BY CITY (% CHANGE Yo2Y)

The post Northern Ireland’s footfall drops back again in February first appeared on Neighbourhood Retailer.

Footfall decreased by 9.5% in January (Yo2Y), a 1.3 percentage point improvement on December, but this remains above the UK average decline of 17.1% (Yo2Y), according to Northern Ireland Retail Consortium.

NIRC-Sensormatic IQ data also revealed that shopping centre footfall declined by 27.7% in January (Yo2Y) in Northern Ireland, well below the decline of 19.3% in December.

And in January, footfall in Belfast decreased by 6.3% (Yo2Y), 5.7 percentage points worse than December.

Aodhán Connolly, Northern Ireland Retail Consortium Director, said: “Northern Ireland continues to lead the UK footfall fightback for the fourth month in a row with Northern Ireland’s shop visits being almost 8 percentage points higher than the UK average.

However, the footfall bounce back has slowed, especially in shopping centres which have a had a particularly challenging January. And while Belfast still outstripped Cardiff or Glasgow, the gap between the cities has closed significantly.  Last month we predicted that this could happen given the end of the successful of the High Street Card Scheme. But there is more at play here than the end of this scheme.

“Consumers are feeling the pinch of rising energy costs which also fed into the highest BRC Shop Price Inflation since December 2012. January saw shop price inflation nearly double, driven by a sharp rise in non-food inflation where increased prices were due to rising oil costs which made shipping more expensive.

“Food prices have continued to rise, especially domestic produce which have been impacted by poor harvests, labour shortages, and rising global food prices.

“The rise in shop prices is playing into wider UK inflation, which is pushing cost of living to the forefront of the political agenda. Many households will find it difficult to absorb the additional costs, as well as others on the horizon.

“Retailers are working hard to cut costs, but it would be impossible to protect consumers from any future rises. As commodity prices, energy prices and transportation costs continue to rise, it is inevitable that retail prices will continue to follow in the future with a possible knock-on effect on footfall.”

Andy Sumpter, Retail Consultant EMEA for Sensormatic Solutions, said: “While total retail shopper traffic in Northern Ireland improved marginally on December’s figures, footfall’s recovery remains somewhat plateaued.  January became the second successive month in which shopper counts struggled to reach the highest recovery levels seen back in November – however Northern Ireland’s footfall recovery performed the most strongly when compared to the rest of the UK nations.  Retailers will be hoping continued consumer confidence will put a spring back in to the step of the High Street’s recovery.”

Since the pandemic started, much of retail has bounced between being open and closed, impacting footfall significantly. To make meaningful comparisons to changes in footfall, all 2021 figures are compared to their pre-pandemic levels. This means the Jan/Feb 2022 figures are year-on-two-years (Yo2Y), rather than year-on-year (YoY).

TOTAL FOOTFALL BY REGION (% CHANGE Yo2Y)

TOTAL FOOTFALL BY CITY (% CHANGE Yo2Y)

The post NI still leading the UK footfall pack, but progress slows and cost pressures rise first appeared on Neighbourhood Retailer.

New figures from NIRC-Sensormatic IQ data reveal that Northern ireland’s footfall decreased by 5.2% compared to 2019 – the shallowest decline in footfall of all UK regions.

NIRC said 2020 was a turbulent year in which much of retail bounced between being open and closed, impacting footfall significantly, and to make meaningful comparisons to changes in footfall, all 2021 figures are compared with 2019, before the pandemic.

In November, footfall in Belfast increased by 3.0%, year on two years, an 11.6 percentage point increase from October.

Northern Ireland footfall decreased by 5.2% in November (Yo2Y), a 5.6 percentage point increase from October. This is above the UK average decline of 15.7% (Yo2Y).

However, shopping centre footfall declined by 21.1% in November (Yo2Y) in Northern Ireland, down from -14.3% in October.

Phenomenal

Aodhán Connolly, Northern Ireland Retail Consortium Director, said: “The High Street Card scheme is truly proving its value with a phenomenal bounce back in footfall across Northern Ireland, and that footfall is being turned into spend with over £100 million being spent from the cards according to Department for Economy figures.

“The positive bounce back we saw in October’s figures is even stronger this month with Northern Ireland’s shop visits being 10 percentage points higher than the UK average and almost 15 percentage points higher than Scotland. Belfast had an unprecedented growth of over 11.5 percentage points, bringing it into positive territory for the first time in almost 2 years.”

Mr Connolly said this was hugely welcome news for retailers who have had the toughest two years on record.

“We are now well into our golden quarter where retailers make the sales that shore them up for the tougher months of less spend in January, February and March. There is still time to spend from your card given the welcome recent extension to the spending deadline by Economy Minister Lyons until 14 of December, which we hope will continue to give our footfall figures a shot in the arm for the next few weeks,” he said.

“It is obvious that the scheme is already creating that virtuous circle of spending that supports our economy, boosts local commerce and jobs and gives our shoppers some needed retail therapy. We would encourage everyone who receives their card to get out to your local shopping destination and make every penny count.

“As well as spending with us, we also need shoppers to support us by shopping safely, by wearing a face covering, washing your hands, maintaining social distancing and using contactless payment where possible, so we can make this a safe Christmas time for all.”

Andy Sumpter, Retail Consultant EMEA for Sensormatic Solutions, said: “We saw a slight footfall falter in November across the UK, with shopper traffic taking a nominal dip on October’s figures, however, Northern Ireland’s High Street recovery continued.  Shopper counts in Northern Ireland reached their highest point so far compared to pre-pandemic levels last month, recovering to -5.2% on 2019 figures, as consumer confidence continues to grow and the resurgence in bricks-and-mortar builds back, slowly but steadily.”

The post High street card fuels footfall fightback in Northern Ireland: NIRC first appeared on Neighbourhood Retailer.