Footfall numbers improve in August – but fears loom over Christmas run-up

Linda Stewart — Fri, 02 Sep 2022 11:10:32 +0000

Shopper footfall numbers improved marginally in Northern Ireland last month, official figures show.

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.

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

Julie Nash — Fri, 09 Jul 2021 08:40:55 +0000

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 19^th 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%

Set featured image

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%

The post Footfall Fiasco – Drop adds to retailers’ worries, says NIRC first appeared on Neighbourhood Retailer.

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Footfall numbers improve in August – but fears loom over Christmas run-up

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