Talking Retail Grocery and product news for independent retailers
The latest data from the British Retail Consortium’s ShopperTrak shows December’s total footfall fell by 46.1% year-on-year, marking a 19.3% improvement on November’s footfall, when non-essential shops shut as part of England’s second national lockdown.
UK retail recorded a 48.4% year-on-year fall in the three months from October to December, while total year-on-year footfall in 2020 dropped by 43.4%.
Total year-on-year footfall in 2020 dropped by 43.4%, the data shows.
Helen Dickinson, chief executive of British Retail Consortium, said: “After an encouraging start to the month Christmas shopper numbers dwindled as December progressed, due in large part to the creation of Tier 4 in England and increased restrictions elsewhere in the UK.
“High streets and shopping centres continued to see the most substantial decline in shoppers, as their ‘non-essential’ tenants were forced to close their doors during the weeks leading up to and following Christmas. London, the South East and Wales were hardest hit, with footfall dropping by over four-fifths in the final week. However, it has been a hard year for the entire country, with footfall down by 43% in 2020 compared to the previous year.”
The data has prompted Bira to call for business rates to be abolished for another year. They are currently due to be reinstated this April following a freeze through the pandemic.
Andrew Goodacre, Bira’s chief executive, said: “These figures are a clear indication the impact of lockdowns and Covid-19. Even when shops were open, the high streets (where most independent retailers are located) were only operating at 70% of the normal footfall.
“The situation has made retailers even more vulnerable than they might normally have been at this time of year, and that is why we believe the government support measures do not go far enough. If ever the government needed evidence that business rates need removing for non-essential retail in 2021/22, here it is.”
