There was little Christmas cheer for retailers over the festive period, with footfall figures for both Christmas Eve and Boxing Day down.
According to Springboard, footfall on Christmas Eve was down by 7.8% on the same period as last year, with Boxing Day figures down even more at 10% – the worst the numbers have been in a decade.
Poor weather on Boxing Day was cited as one of the reasons for the drop in footfall, with the sales failing to tempt consumers out of their homes and on to the high streets.
The high street has bore the brunt of the declines, with footfall down by 7.4% on Christmas Eve and by 13.6% on Boxing Day. Shopping centre footfall was down by 5.8% on Christmas Eve and 8.8% on Boxing Day, with retail parks performing best on both days, with footfall down by 3% and 5.9% respectively.
Shops in Greater London and Yorkshire did better than the rest of the country when it came to attracting shoppers yesterday, said Springboard, with footfalls of “just” 7.2% and 9.9% respectively.
In Northern Ireland the drop was sharpest at 17.2% . The South East was down 14.9% and Scotland and Wales were down by 14%.
To send feedback, e-mail samantha.mcclary@egi.co.uk or tweet @samanthamcclary or @estatesgazette
