January sales help boost retail footfall

Retail footfall strengthened last month, industry data showed on Friday, as shoppers sought out a bargain in the January sales and employees headed back to the office.

The latest BRC-Sensormatic IQ Footfall Monitor showed total UK footfall jumped 12.5% year-on-year in January, down 2.6 percentage points on a strong December but comfortably ahead of the three-month average of 10.3%.

Within that, high streets saw footfall increase 20.2%, a 0.5 percentage point improvement on December, and shopping centres reported a 12.4% jump year-on-year. Retail parks, however, saw footfall decline 3.5%.

Total footfall also remains below pre-pandemic levels, falling 6.5% against January 2019.

Helen Dickinson, chief executive of the British Retail Consortium, said: "Footfall saw strong growth as employees made more trips to the office and international tourism improved, compared to last year when some Covid restrictions were in place.

"Growth was most pronounced in high streets and shopping centres, as many shoppers sought out a bargain in the January sales. Retail parks faltered as the cost of living crisis put many shoppers off buying big ticket home products often located there."

Andy Sumpter, EMEA retail consultant for Sensormatic Solutions, said: "Shoppers rallied despite the threat of disruption from ongoing rail strikes, cold snaps and shaky consumer confidence.

"While retailers will take heart from the demand signals that bricks and mortar remains shoppers’ channel of choice, footfall levels hover stubbornly just below pre-pandemic levels, even though January saw the highest recovery point in the past year."