February storms put dampener on high street footfall

HIGH streets and shopping centres experienced a dramatic fall in footfall last month after the UK was hit by multiple storms and wet weather, new figures have revealed.

The latest monthly BRC-ShopperTrak Footfall Monitor shows that total footfall in the UK fell by a total of two per cent year on year last month – named as the wettest February on record.

This was significantly below recent 1.1 per cent growth over the past three months, after the UK retail market was previously buoyed by increased political certainty following the December general election.

Elsewhere, shopping centres saw footfall decline rapidly, sliding seven per cent for the month as shoppers shunned the retail sites in the face of storms Ciara and Dennis.

Meanwhile, retail parks reported a one-and-a-half per cent fall in footfall for the month, below the average of 0.8 per cent growth in the past three months.

The chief executive of the British Retail Consortium, Helen Dickinson, said: “Multiple storms took their toll on footfall this February, particularly for shopping centres and high streets.

“The decline was less marked for retail parks, which provide easy parking and offered some salvation from the rain.”

The head of the industry group said the decline was not related to coronavirus, with the outbreak potentially leading to increased activity at the end of the month as customers stockpiled some products.

Ms Dickinson added: “There was a slight boost in footfall in the final week, where concerns around coronavirus may have contributed to an increase in store visits.”

Andy Sumpter, a retail consultant at ShopperTrak, said: “While January saw shopper levels on the high street boosted by the ‘Boris Bounce’, February was a different story.

“In the wettest February on record, we also had three named storms, which all arrived over weekend trading, and certainly dampened shopper traffic levels.”