‘Retailers can no longer rely on Christmas’

● Latest report shows shopper numbers down for 13th month in a row

Retailers can no longer rely on Christmas trading to make up for revenue lost earlier in the year, a report suggests, as shopper numbers on the high street continued to dwindle in December despite big discounts being offered.

Those behind the British Retail Consortium (Brc)springboard footfall and vacancies monitor said retailers should not ignore the warning signs of sales bonanzas failing to stimulate customer activity.

Discounting “is severely eroding the strength of Christmas as a major trading period”, the report said.

The latest report found that footfall fell by 2.6 per cent year-on-year in December – marking the 13th month in a row of declines.

Shopper numbers on the high street, in retail parks and in shopping centres

0 Footfall on the high street declined by 2.1 per cent year-on-year, marking five consecutive months of weakening.

were in decline in December.

Diane Wehrle, Springboard marketing and insights director, said: “The 2.6 per cent decline in footfall in December 2018 – the ninth in 10 years,

and the seventh consecutive year of decline – is undeniably strong evidence that retailers can no longer rely on Christmas trading to redeem revenue lost earlier in the year.”

She continued: “If nothing else is learnt from December 2018, it is that discounting does not stimulate customer activity, and is severely eroding the strength of Christmas

as a major trading period.

“Ignoring the warning signs and continuing to bring sales forward undermines profitability and, ultimately, longerterm innovation in retailing.”

Footfall on the high street declined by 2.1 per cent yearon-year, marking five consecutive months of weakening for this shopping location.

Retail parks had a similar fate, with December footfall 2.1 per cent lower than a year earlier.

Footfall in shopping centres declined by 3.9 per cent with this location having now seen 21 consecutive months of declines.

Helen Dickinson, chief executive of the BRC, said: “The December results conclude a difficult year for retailers, with footfall dropping by 2.6 per cent over the year.

“This continued drop, now on to its 13th month, continues to put pressure on bricks-andmortar stores up and down the country.

“It comes at a time when retail is in the midst of a transformation, investing in technology and the online offer, as well as offering more experiences in physical shops.

“This is evolving many high streets into a destination for wider services, as well as shopping.”